Chat rooms are abundant on the Internet. At these sites you can "chat" (type and receive messages "live") about virtually any subject. Usually you choose a screen name (other than your real name) to use in the chat room which provides some anonymity.
Many chat rooms are real-time, live chat rooms, which also have the ability to send private messages which open up in a separate screen! So you can watch the chat in the "main room", and have a separate screen to chat with your friends!
Chat rooms only know as much information as you give them, so it is a good idea to not give out personal information such as your full name, home address and telephone number while chatting.
Observe common courtesy and politeness while in the chat room. Please be polite to other users, and do not flood the screen or talk in excessive capital letters.
Some chat rooms are moderated, except for private messages, but sometimes things do slip by the moderators. Some chat rooms allow you to block messages from a specific user by using the ignore command,. You just type /ignore then followed by the persons nickname (i.e., "/ignore joeuser").
Here are some lists of chat rooms to check out:
- ScholarStuff Chat Network
- The Ultimate Chat List