The internet has given birth to a completely new form of communication: online chat. Chat allows you to talk to your friends, family or people you don't know in real time, and the number of people using online chats is truly enormous. There are many ways to connect with others to chat, depending on the type of chat you are looking for. Whether you want to have a chat with your grandmother or virtually meet people you don't know, chatting requires a certain amount of responsibility.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Choose a Chat Schedule
Step 1. Think about the type of people you want to chat with
If you want to do this with friends or family members, it will be different than chatting with a community or with strangers. Deciding the type of people you want to chat with will help you choose which conversation platform to use.
Step 2. Use a direct chat service if you want to talk to friends or family
If you plan to have a lot of one-to-one or group conversations with friends or family, you will need a program or service that allows you to connect directly with them. Probably every person you know uses at least one of the following programs or services:
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Facebook: is a social network that has rapidly evolved into a chat service. This is a great chat platform that most of your friends and family have access to. You can chat with your computer using the site or via the Facebook Messenger application.
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Skype: is one of the most popular chat programs in the world, used by millions of people. Skype is available for Windows, Mac, Linux and theoretically for any type of portable device. It recently incorporated MSN Messenger. You can use Skype to connect in video chat or just by typing text, and you can create discussion groups.
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Mobile chat applications: If you spend most of your time using a mobile device, you will probably want to use it for chatting. There are a variety of chat and texting applications available for portable devices, such as Snapchat, Kik, and WhatsApp. Creating an account with these applications is free.
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AIM (AOL Instant Messenger): is one of the older chat services, which is still very popular. You can chat via the web interface on the site, or download the dedicated AIM client.
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Step 3. Use a site's chat to chat with strangers
There are a plethora of websites offering chat services, many of which are meant to meet strangers and have them chat privately. Many of these also offer the option of video chatting.
- Chatroulette and Omegle are two of the most popular sites. You have no control over who you are going to chat with. If you have a webcam, you can use it for video chat.
- There are many anonymous chat services on the web. Yahoo! Chat, Tinychat, Spinchat and many others offer anonymous conversation rooms dedicated to various topics.
- Yahoo chat.
Step 4. Use a dedicated client to connect to communities
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is one of the older platforms, hosting thousands of communities where every conceivable topic is discussed. IRC can be a bit daunting for new users, but it has a very powerful chat protocol that allows you to connect to thousands of servers and file transfer between users is possible.
The most popular IRC client is called mIRC. You also have the option of using a consolidation program such as Trillian or Pidgin to connect to IRC servers
Method 2 of 3: Learn to Use Netiquette
Step 1. Understand the importance of "netiquette"
The term "netiquette" refers to interaction with anonymous users on the internet. Since the internet allows communication between anonymous users, words of fire often fly. The first rule of netiquette is to be polite: without netiquette, the internet would quickly become an unhealthy community, full of trolls (provocateurs) and personal attacks.
Step 2. Please note that the user you are chatting with is a real person
There is a real person on the other side of the screen, and what you say can, at times, have a significant impact. Before sending a message, think about how you would actually talk to someone.
Step 3. Say hello to your interlocutor when starting a conversation
It is considered normal and healthy courtesy when entering a conversation room or sending a private message. This is very important with regards to conversation rooms, as not everyone notices there is a newcomer. Saying goodbye will help you break the ice and make other users more available.
Step 4. Don't spam chat
Practicing "spam" in chats means constantly sending messages within the conversation room. Avoid sending messages in rapid succession, and sending short replies every few seconds. Take some time to formulate your answers, and all chat users will be grateful to you.
Step 5. Avoid writing in capital letters
In the chat environment this is considered to be yelling, and it could cause derision and contempt towards you. You may be ignored or even kicked out of the chat. Use capital letters for those words or phrases you really want to emphasize.
Step 6. Treat others with the same respect you expect from them
This is generally true in life, and it's the only way to have a good conversation online. If you don't treat other users with the same respect you expect from them, you will likely be ignored.
Step 7. Learn to use abbreviations
Internet abbreviations undergo continuous variations and implementations, depending on the user and the community. Each community develops a kind of dialect over time, and knowing how to use it is a way to become part of it. Trying to use abbreviations improperly will make you look like a stranger to that community.
Step 8. Adjust your grammar level to the situation
If you are chatting with your boss, you will use a different language level than when you are chatting with your best friend. Make sure you take your interlocutor into account when formulating your answers.
Method 3 of 3: Maintain Security
Step 1. Protect your identity
Your personal data should be considered very confidential information when dealing with other users online. Do not use any personal information in your username. Avoid using your real name until you feel completely comfortable with the other person or within the community. Never give information about:
- Your bank details.
- Your documents.
- Age, residence, places of study and / or work.
- Anything that could somehow be directly connected to you (such as an email address that contains your real name).
- When using the webcam to chat, make sure that there are no elements within the frame that allow you to identify yourself. It's amazing how some people find a high school address, envelope, or souvenir photo.
Step 2. Learn to avoid trolls
Trolls are people who deliberately provoke other users, often using personal attacks. Trolls can make chats unpleasant, and can sometimes lead you to divulge information that you shouldn't. Learn to spot them, and avoid falling into their traps. The best way to deal with trolls is to ignore them; a response of any kind will only fuel the controversy.
Step 3. Don't meet anyone in person until you feel completely comfortable
Someone from time to time may ask you for a "real" meeting: you must agree to do so only if you feel comfortable meeting strangers, and always in a public place.
If you decide to meet someone, tell a friend or family member of the details of the meeting, i.e. where and when you will meet
Step 4. Always act as if everything you do or say online is recorded
Treat each interaction as if it can be extracted and subsequently used in the most unpleasant way imaginable.
