The Guide - Socialzing Online Faq

One of the most common methods of finding people who share your interests online is through chat. Chat is a fast-paced form of Internet discussion. When you chat on the Internet, you enter a virtual meeting place called a "chat room," where you "talk" to others using your keyboard to type text messages.

2. What do I need to use a chat room?

It depends on the type of chat you choose to participate in. In the chat rooms at some Web sites, you need only a Web browser, like Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. Other that sites require a browser plus a free browser plug-in or control that you can download. For Internet Relay Chat,you need to install a separate IRC program (also known as an "IRC client") on your computer. Visit the Chat Software page for descriptions of chat software. The chat rooms available through your Personal Start Page channel buttons require only a browser to use.

3. What do people chat about?

Everything. If you have an interest, chances are good that there's a Web site,IRC channel, or other chat area devoted specifically to it. Many chats,however, are purely social and have no specified topic. The quality, tone, and intelligence, of course, varies from site to site and day to day. You may need to spend some time to find the chat that's right for you.

4. Is it safe to chat online?

Some chat areas on the Net are moderated and are clearly marked as such.But many Web sites and Internet Relay Chat channels are wide open and uncensored. Some of what you see could be offensive to you. For this reason, children should always have adult supervision while chatting on the Internet. Also, avoid revealing sensitive personal information (your address, phone number, etc.) in chat rooms.

5. What is IRC?

IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, a system in which you log onto one of a number of special chat computers (or "servers") on the Internet and join a chat channel devoted to a topic that interests you.

6. What are the most popular chat sites or programs in India?

Currently, Yahoo, MSN and ICQ are the some of the most prefered chat utilities around. All of these have a lot of good features where you can search for people in different directories by specifying words which could appear in the id, name or address of the person. All in all they are pretty good tools to have.