Chat

Updated: 12/26/2023 by Computer Hope
Digital characters chatting with one another.

Chat is a text-based communication that is live or in real-time. For example, when talking to someone in chat any typed text is received by other participants immediately. In contrast, other text-based communications such as e-mail are modes of correspondence that are not real-time.

There are also several million users chatting through other networks such as IRC. A good example of a chat on IRC is the Computer Hope chat. Another popular chat service used todya by many gamers is Discord.

Note

Chat was featured as a top term of 1996.

What is a chat room?

A chat room is where multiple people can all talk at the same time. When in a chat room anything said is seen by all people participating in the chat room. To send a message to only one person in a chat room a PM (private message) or DM (direct message) can be sent.

Chat etiquette

Below is a short list of chat etiquette that should be followed when chatting with others online.

  1. Behave the same way you would when talking to someone in real-life.
  2. Avoid chat slang.
  3. Try your best to spell all words correctly and use proper punctuation.
  4. Remember no one is perfect, spelling errors and other mistakes are common in chat.
  5. Do not WRITE IN ALL CAPS as it makes you appear as you're yelling.
  6. Do not send other chat users private messages without asking them first.
  7. Abide by the rules created by those running the chat.
  8. When first joining a chat with multiple people, watch the conversation for a few minutes before chiming into someone else's conversation.

Chat security suggestions

Below are our recommendations for staying safe in chat and security suggestions to follow when participating in online chat.

  1. Never give your full name, address, phone, e-mail, or personal information over chat. Especially if it's a public chat that everyone can read. If absolutely needed, you can send a PM (private message) or DM (direct message).
  2. Never accept files from others in chat.
  3. If you're chatting to find help with your computer, and someone wants to remotely connect to your computer to help you fix a problem, be extremely cautious. Understand that if you allow them to remotely connect, they can access, modify, create, or destroy any information on your computer.

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