How's it work

Chat provides a mechanism for two or more users to exchange views in real time. Generally a chat session provides a split screen showing Who is there The conversation A space to type your words When a member of the chat session types something into the text entry area and presses the Enter key it is added to the conversation, usually prefaced by their name. This way you get a scrolling list of (usually) short comments, responding to earlier remarks by other chatters. Most chat facilities give you the opportunity to use a nickname, and so have some degree of anonymity.

Who's chatting

While all generalisations are untrue, chatters do seem to have a lot in common. Four overlapping categories cover many chat users.