Abstract

Have you ever wanted to talk with other computer users all over the world but not wanted the enormous phone bill that goes with it? Well, now you can, and you use the Internet to do so. Internet Chat is a worldwide network of computer network server systems dedicated to directing messages, more or less instantly, between thousands of users. This network has existed almost as long as the Internet itself.

When you connect to a server, you join a community of thousands of users who have nearly instantaneous text conversations with any number of other people. Of course, if several hundred people were conversing all at once, and you could hear each of them equally clearly, you would be entirely overwhelmed with information. For that reason, each server allows its users to create individual "channels" into which others wishing to converse on a particular topic can enter.

A frequently used metaphor for Chat channels is the Chat Room. By imagining the Chat server as a large building, and the individual channels inside that building as separate rooms, you can see that many people can discuss many topics on the same server without overlapping conversations.

Unlike a real building, the virtual rooms can be created, locked, made accessible by invitation only or guarded, and then destroyed without a trace. Any Chat user has the ability to create his or her own channel and either make its location public to the rest of the users on the server or keep it secret for those trusted few who know where to find it.

It is also possible to talk directly with another user without entering any of the channels. Query mode is a type of Chat service that allows two people to talk privately, even if they are in separate crowded channels.

One of the most interesting features of a popular chat service called IRC, even allows users to by-pass the IRC server entirely and connect their computers directly. This allows for the transfer of files between two users. Any type of file can be transferred: pictures, video, sounds, spreadsheets and even viruses. For this reason it is always good to be aware of who and what you are dealing with.

So whether you’re out to make new friends, or round up your old 5^th grade class you can have fun by joining the Internet Chat fraternity. I should warn you that many people have found "chatting" very addictive once they began to make friends and contacts in chat rooms. One more nice thing about getting together with old friends online, unless you go the video route, nobody has to see how "old" an old friend you're getting to be.

Are there a lot of chat rooms around on the Internet?

On the Net, talk is not only cheap; it's usually free. You'll see what I mean if you search Yahoo for the term "chat." Currently, there are some eight categories and around 500 sites listed there, with all sorts of chat theme software and services available for the talkative. You will find categories and subjects ranging from philosophy to Arts and Humanities right on through to sex and sport.

What do people talk about in these chat sessions?

Topics of discussion will vary, but it is fair to say there are groups interested in just about everything imaginable, from heavy duty business to quilt making. Technical and political discussions are very popular, especially when world events are in progress.

Many people also find this a medium in which they can expand their horizons and practice new languages, as people from most countries and cultures are on-line 24 hours a day. Most conversations are in English, but there are always channels in languages such as German, Japanese, French, Finnish, and occasionally other languages.

How did these Chat systems gain popularity?

Chat sessions, as they are also often known, gained international prominence during the late Persian Gulf War, when updates from around the world came across the wire, and most people in chat rooms gathered on a single channel to hear these reports.

IRC had similar uses during the coup against Boris Yeltsin in September 1993, where IRC users from Moscow were giving live reports about the unstable situation there. They were also extraordinarily active during the Bosnia conflict.

Are there any special rules to watch out for when chatting?

Yes, as in most things there are rules of engagement and etiquette, they are known as "netiquette". The cleverly obvious contraction of "Net" and "etiquette" probably first made its appearance in the early days of the Internet, to help describe appropriate behaviour on Usenet and electronic mailing lists.

As the number of Internet users has skyrocketed, the need for agreed upon guidelines to online behaviour is even more important. Usenet and mailing lists are still going strong, and those first rules apply now more than ever, but other common uses of the Net have their own rules of netiquette as well. Many of the same conventions are also relevant in chatrooms. You're still just typing your thoughts and sending them to people, but in a chatroom, they're just a little quicker to respond.

Since there is a wide range of chatrooms available on the Net, it also follows that there are different standards of behaviour depending on your particular group. Something that may be perfectly OK in one chatroom, like using the odd swear word, may be totally unacceptable in another.

There are however some universal conventions that will be good advice no matter where you're chatting.

Avoid Using ALL CAPITAL letters.
This is considered shouting. You'll be quickly scolded. Increasing your font size or typing in bold is considered to be just as bad.

Decide What the Tone of Conversation is Before Chatting
Don't use offensive language or nicknames, unless you're in a chatroom that likes that kind of thing. Always avoid making personal attacks and calling names.

Don't "Flood" the Chatroom
Flooding is repeating messages over and over, or filling the screen with gibberish, in order to impede communication in the chatroom.

Don't Flirt with Everyone in the Chatroom
This should go without saying, but this is often an endemic problem on many sites. Save the promiscuity for one-on-one correspondences please.

Be Nice to Newbies
We were all there once. If someone stumbles into your chat, and they are obviously new to this medium, show them some patience and help them get the hang of it.

Give your conversation feelings
By using the widely accepted smiley, you can convey the tone in which you are speaking, eg :-) when you are happy. ;-) when you are joking :-( when your sad

Is there anything we absolutely shouldn’t do when we are first starting out?

It's not necessary to greet everybody on a channel personally. Usually one "Hello!" or equivalent is enough; don't expect everybody to greet you back, on a channel with 20 people that would mean one screen full of hellos. In order not to be rude to the rest of the channel it's often sensible not to greet. If you feel you must say hello to somebody you know, do it with a private message. The same applies to goodbyes.

Remember, people in chatrooms form their opinions about you only by your actions, writings and comments, and so think before you type. If you use offensive words, you'll be frowned upon. Do not "dump" to a channel or user, (send large amounts of unwanted information). This is likely to get you "kicked" off the channel or "killed" off from IRC. Dumping causes network "burps", connections going down because servers cannot handle the large amount of traffic anymore.

How do I know when my friends and colleagues are on-line?

One of the most popular methods is a system called ICQ. The name is a phonetic shortening of "I Seek You". It is an easy and simple Internet program that tells you which of your friends is online at any given time. Once you've downloaded and installed the software you register with a Chat server.

At the time of registration, you receive a unique ICQ number, also known as a UIN (Universal Internet Number). In addition, ICQ gives you the option of entering personal information along with your ICQ#. This allows other ICQ users to recognize you when you log on. Once you've registered, you can compile a selected list of friends and associates. ICQ uses this list to find your friends for you. As soon as you log onto the Internet, ICQ automatically detects the Internet connection, announces your presence to the Internet community and alerts you when friends sign on or off.

Is there privacy on Internet Chat sessions?

You should always keep in mind that messages you send to someone over IRC are passed along all the servers between you and the person you are writing to. When you're sending a letter to someone, any postman on the way could open it and read its contents. Well, it's the same on the network. Any system administrator could log whatever messages are transmitted through his node, (it has already been done), so a good rule of thumb is not to trust the servers. Internet chatting is not a secure way of communication.

How do you get yourself set-up to be involved in the Chat community?

You need a "client" program that connects to the network via another program called a "server". Servers exist to pass messages from user to user over the network. You can download these "clients" from many Web sites free of charge.

If there are thousands of Servers which one do I connect my client to?

It's usually best to try and connect to one geographically close, even though that may not be the best. You can always ask when you get on. A list of servers is attached on the links of this document for connection. Try jello.qabc.uq.oz.au to get started.

Are there any dangers in using Chat systems?

It is possible to receive a worm or virus on anyone's PC through chat applications. So before you lose your work to the latest malicious virus ensure you have a good, current anti virus scanner.

Never type anything cryptic that another user tells you to without knowing what it is. There is a problem with typing certain commands with the some chat client software that could gives another person the ability to take control of your client system and consequently alter your set-up.

There has also been a recent spate of fraudulent behaviour, do not be gullible and get sucked into so called hard luck stories and hand over your hard earned cash.

Arthur Hissey
Computer Research & Technology
www.crt.net.au