chat - technical definition

A real-time conferencing capability between two or more users on a local network (LAN), on the Internet or via a BBS. The chat is really a "text chat," because the conversing is accomplished by typing on the keyboard, not speaking. Each keystroke is transmitted as it is pressed. The chat rooms of the 1980s were the forerunner of the "instant messaging" craze of the 1990s. See chat room, instant messaging, IRC and voice chat.