Web Chat

Once inside, you may find yourself in the middle of an ongoing conversation. Take a few minutes to absorb the gist of the exchange. There's no harm in lurking for a while before you join in. In fact it's not uncommon for chat rooms to have many more lurkers than participants. As the interaction continues, new postings appear at the top or bottom of the list. Once you feel confident enough to participate in the discussion, type your message in the blank box at the bottom of your screen and click the Talk button or hit the Enter or Return key on your keyboard. Soon your message will be posted in the chat room and people may respond.

The same rules of behavior apply in chat rooms as they do to other online communications. Review the article on netiquette to avoid offending anyone. To minimize the amount of typing, people often use emoticons and abbreviations. For a list of common ones, see the Smileys article.

If you want, you can make a general posting to everyone in the chat room, expounding your views. But just like in the real world, you can also address your comments to a specific person. "Hey, Wild Bill, I had just the opposite experience . . ." Although everyone can read your message, it's clear that it's intended for a particular individual. Some chat rooms let you initiate private conversations by clicking on the name of a participant.

While chats can offer an engaging experience, proceed with caution. Use common sense. Remember that all your comments are public. Even if it appears that there is only one other person in a room, others can be lurking. Don't give out personal information to strangers you meet online--certainly not your address, phone number or credit card account. Having said that, it's time to start chatting.

• ICQ, a popular software program for chats can be downloaded for free from the ICQ website.
• Dozens of subject-related chat rooms can be found at Yahoo! Web Chat Rooms.

Last update: Jan 8, 2010