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chat room - technical definition

Referring to a teleconferencing channel that allows participants to converse in real-time text mode. Chat rooms typically are topical in nature, being dedicated to the discussion of specific subject matter.

See chat room in Webster''s New World Hacker Dictionary

Virtual Â“roomsÂ” where users connected to the Internet can interact by exchanging messages typed into an input box and displayed in the chat room window for other users to view and respond to. Typically, a user name identifies the individual in the chat room. Many chat rooms exist for different themes. In recent years, users, particularly females and children, have been warned by the police to take precautions when in a chat room to prevent cyberharassment and cyberstalking.

Happy Online. Internet Terminology Defined: What is a Chat Room? [Online, July 18, 2004.] Happy Online Website. http://www.happy-online.co.uk/tutorial/ chat_rooms.htm.

See chat room in Computer

An interactive, online discussion (by keyboard) about a specific topic that is hosted on the Internet or on a BBS. On the Internet, chat rooms are available from major services such as AOL, individual Web sites and the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) system, the Net's traditional computer conferencing.

Chat rooms are set up to handle group discussions, and everyone sees what everyone else types in, although two people can decide to break off and have their own keyboard chat. "Instant messaging," a similar concept, works in an opposite manner. With instant messaging, two people normally interact back and forth and must specifically invite others to join in. See instant messaging, IRC and voice chat.

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chat room - technical definition

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