Online chat

Online chat refers to any kind of communication over the Internet that provides real-time transmission of text messages from sender to receiver.

(TO DO: expand, cross-reference, illustrate.)

Description

Chat messages are generally short in order to enable other participants to respond quickly. Thereby, a feeling similar to a spoken conversation is created, which distinguishes chatting from other text-based online communication forms such as Internet forums and email.

Online chat may address point-to-point communications as well as multicast communications from one sender to many receivers and voice and video chat, or may be a feature of a web conferencing service.

See also

• Instant messaging
• Internet
• Real-time text
• Web conferencing

External Links

• Online chat @ Wikipedia