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SPIDERWEBS: I Am, Therefore I Chat BY SHEILA FRANKLIN |
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SPIDERWEBS: I Am, Therefore I Chat BY SHEILA FRANKLIN |
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Chatroom List
@@ As I have previously mentioned, there are literally thousands of chat sites on the net. They range anywhere from private rooms, (usually for 2 or 3 chatters at a time) to rooms that will hold up to over 100 at a time. Most rooms are set up by age group, but many are also arranged by common interests, i.e. nationality, romantic, and selected gender. Parents can put a block on some of the adult-related chat sites, but net-savvy teens somehow find their way through the barriers. Most sites have rooms for both children and adults, but I have also listed a couple of teen chatsites that I visited.
@@ Here are some of the rooms that are available, their addresses on the net, and a bit about the type of chat you will encounter there. I have checked out each of them personally so they should still be active. Be advised that if the sites are java or irc you must have the ability to download them. In other words, if you have Web TV or a very old computer you may not be able visit them.
@@ I have included some of these sites because they are easier for the beginner to chat. Others are listed for their uniqueness and still others because they are some of the most widely used. One of the problems I encountered while researching them was that many of them require a membership to get the most out of them. I personally believe that one should never have to pay for chat but for many of them it is their main source of income for site maintenance.
800CHAT @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ www.800chat.com
28 rooms. Java and IRC for those that can keep up and like colours and more than just basic chat. Not for first timers.
ACTIVEWORLD @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ www.activeworld.com
A very unique chatsite. For about $20.00 dollars a month you can create a “cyberstructure” to live in. It is possible here to interact with others through the use of visible avatars. You can download information that will give you a “tour” of the site beforehand, but you cannot participate unless you first become a member.
BESEEN @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ www.beseen.com
23 rooms. You must register a name and password before chatting in this free site. Be sure to add a number after your handle as otherwise it will be more difficult to get on. One line java posts with auto-refresh. This is similar to many sites that allow you to perform certain actions through your keyboard, i.e. “ “/w” for pmming.
BIANCA @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ www.bianca.com
One of the oldest sites (since 1994). This site claims that over a million chatters have visited there. It is set up as a net “bulletin board”, either you post a topic and others respond to you, or you pick one that is already established and leave a post for them to read. You can also leave your e-mail addy for others to contact you. Either way it is an interesting experience if you have the time to return daily. I wrote bianca to see if this figure could indeed be accurate. This was my original e-mail to them and the chatmistress’s response:
On Wed, 23 Dec 1998
to whom it may concern:
i recently discovered your chatrooms and wanted to try them. while i was looking at your page i noticed the comment "millions have chatted here" or something similar. i see you have been there since 1994. this might sound kind of silly, but i was wondering if there really are millions?
where do they all go at once? the magic of cyberspace is a wonderful thing, wouldnt you agree?
“HI there,
Yes it's true... millions have chatted here!
We get an average of 1.6 million impressions per day generated by over
80,000 individuals.
Where do they go? Oy... the site is so big that they're just all over the
place!
Cheers and Happy Holidays!
AJ”
CHATALYST @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ www.chatalyst.com
17 room, can hold about 200 chatters total, although about 4 of those rooms are private. Posting is one line at a time and there is auto-refresh.
CHATBOX @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ http://www.chatbox.com
8 rooms, somewhat difficult to chat with an older ‘puter, and definitely not for those who cannot tolerate small print.
CHATCOM @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ http://www.chatcom.com
“Welcome! If you are looking for clean, safe, and friendly chat rooms where you can meet lots of interesting people, this is the place!” This is the header at the top of the page. This site has 20 rooms for adults, and several for children. Because it is family oriented, they request that you not only register, but mail them a fee of $3.65. This is so that they will know something about you r/t and protect you as well as the site.
CHATCITY @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ www.chatcity.com
One of the most difficult sites to chat in but well worth the trouble for those that can keep up and compete. You must be very specific in your choice of room, etc. Sounds and artwork make this the elilte of chatsites. 24 basic rooms with many more user-created.
CHATPLANET @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ www.chatplanet.com
11 main rooms, approximately 100 user created rooms in each. This site claims “thousands of chatters” in the “largest java site on the net”. It is divided into categories, i.e. arts & entertainment and science & tecnology. Since the rooms are user-created you enter a room and go to another site to load it.
CHATROPOLIS @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ www.chatropolis.com
Over 100 rooms, one entrance for adults, one for juveniles. This is a one line only at a time chat, but rooms are limited in amounts of chatters, and members get precendence. Lots of erotic pictures in the adult half, and you can get this to auto-refresh, which means that you can choose for it to repost without your needing to do so.
CHATTOWN @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ www.chattownusa.com
10 main rooms with approximately 5-7 rooms within each. At the time I visited it claimed over 1200 chatters. Rooms auto-refresh after each new post which is somewhat limited in size. Several good options including instant room connections, choice of amount of postings viewed, and free membership.
CHAT ZONE
www.beseen.com
Descr: 23 rooms. Posting is one line at a time, in your choice of color. A fairly small site and you must enter a handle and password.
CYBERZINE
www.cyberzine.com
11 rooms. This is a site designed only for adults. It is extreme in that it contains pornography and very graphic chat.
DUCK DOWN
http://www.duckdown.com
Popular teen site, music oriented. Chat is rather fast java, auto-refresh.
EXCITECHAT
www.excite.com/communities
Over 30 rooms divided in various ways, i.e. topics (sports, health, politics), regions, general. This site avowed that at the time I visited there were over 11,000 chatters there other than myself. It also boasted the first “cyber talk show”. Although somewhat difficult to register, and load (for it utilizes java applet), it is fairly simple to chat.
FANTASY CASTLE
www.fantasycastle.com
Pretty and imaginative chatsite with 18 rooms, some only accessible to members. One of the simplest rooms to chat in, and you can select how many posts you wish to view at a time. The rooms are rated according to age, and music is available while you chat.
FREE ZONE
http://chat.freezone.com
5 rooms of chat for kids. You must enter a name and password here before being allowed to chat and if 12 or under, parents must be the ones to fill out the information. Teens 13 and up are required to give their parents e-addy so that they are notified of registration. You can choose style of chat, and it is very helpful for those who are new to the net in terms of “how to”.
GAY.COM
www.gay.com
5 “floors” with more than 300 rooms, mostly for men but also some for women. It lays claim to over 3000 chatters. Easy chat, with one line at a time, auto-refresh, and instant room transfer. One of the nicest features is that you can get a private room by double clicking on another’s name.
GAYCHAT
www.gaychat.com
6 rooms, 50 in each maximum. New messages refresh as they are posted. Simple site for chatting, but members have precedence over those who are not. You will be booted if one comes and the room you are in is full.
GLOBALCHAT
www.tcglobal.com
13 rooms with a claim that over 173,000 have visited it since February of 1997. Chatting is fairly simple, and you are given the option of how many posts you would like to view at once (although this can reduce refresh time). You can also alter text and background color as well as go in with an icon. They advise you only go in 7pm to midnight since they are “rebuilding” the room. This site also has the rather unique ability to censor bad language.
HOTELCHAT
www.hotelchat.com
16 rooms with only four of them accessible to non-users. This is one of the more creative sites that I encountered; it is actually set up with a picture of the room that you are in and has a little narrative with each. The membership is higher than most (from $24-60) probably because there are no advertisement banners there and it is the main source of their income. The site includes one line chatting, auto-refresh, and instant access to other rooms.
KEEPTALKING
www.keeptalking.com
5 “systems” (sites) with approximately 6 rooms in each. Definitely not a room for newbies or those with older computers. Site auto-refreshes very quickly and answering pms is somewhat time consuming. Visit as a guest before you consider membership.
MAXCHAT
www.maxchat.com
Very simple entry. 9 rooms at present with more “under construction”. Chat is one line at a time in java fashion and only new messages are posted on your screen. This is a fast chat, but if you have mastered the are of “mirc” (adding color and sound to your chat) it has the potential of being fun. You can instantly switch back and forth from rooms here.
MTV CHAT
http://www.mtv.com
14 total rooms, and you must pre-register. Choice of type of chat and sometimes there are recording artists with whom you can chat. They also have a rather unique idea that involves live chatting while a program is being simulcast on MTV.
OMNICHAT
www.omnichat.com
12 main rooms with other rooms inside, i.e. Book chat, Religion chat, Motor Chat. No membership fee or registration needed. These rooms automatically refresh, however, so you need to be quick.
THE PALACE
www.thepalace.com
Twenty main areas, hundreds of rooms. This is the place to go if you are into the imaginary realm of visual chat. You choose an avatar to represent yourself and your words appear on the screen in front of you. Your mouse moves you from place to place and you use commands such as “Please” to enter. It utilizes java to chat but if you download free software you can “play” with “props”. It takes some time to load this site, so be patient.
PANIC ZONE
http://www.paniczone.com
6 rooms with several rules here, i.e. you must be over 20, no porn, no cybering. You are subject to being “evicted” if you are abusive in language. Somewhat tough to chat, as you must use a button to refresh that is somewhat unreliable.
THE PARK
http://shakti.the-park.com/newchatChatMenu/
One of the largest chatsites, boasting up to 5000 chatters a day. For a membership fee you can have access to over 100 rooms. You can also chat as a non-member, but it is more difficult, for you can only view 15 posts at a time. Chatting here is very simple and a good place to start as an amateur. Private rooms available. This is another site that I contacted during the writing of this book for general information. Their response was this:
“...according to the data we have collected, we get about 4 million
visitors a month. However, we are not making such a lot of money
because our chat is free; The Park is basically run with the money we
get from VIP memberships and from the banner ads; there is no other
revenue.”
STATE OF INSANITY (SOI)
www.hyperchat.com
A very large and unique adult chatsite with fairly simple chatting. There are four major areas to choose from. One line posting with only one button for posting or refresh. It claims,“Welcome to the State of Insanity... The true alternative online community.
Look around. No advertisements. No unrelated services meant to take your money. Pure and simple. SOI is founded on the principle that a chat site should be low cost, well run, and contain the features that enable one thing: Chatting.
There are over 10,000 rooms at SOI. Only a handful are 'State Owned'. The citizens of SOI chart the site's course. Many issues of state operation are resolved by voting. When enough citizens vote in favor, they can even create new sites!”
TVCHAT
www.ultimatetv.com
18 rooms with tv themes (i.e. X-files and Soap chat, avowing 31,500 registered members.This site is free but you must register under a real name and await a registration before your initial visit. There are many chatrules here(such as no extreme obscenity and no multiple handles) and those who do not follow them are subject to being banned. This is also one of the more difficult sites for chatting as vertical scrolling is needed to keep up.
WEBCHAT
http://www.wbs.net
A very popular chatsite and also one of the largest. No fee required. Over a thousand chatters in each of about 100 rooms java style and you have the ability to change your letter font, background, and alter colors for both.
WEBMAZE
www.webmaze.com
Another auto refresh java site with 46 rooms for adults and 10 for children. You can chat here for free but members ($35.00/6 mos.) only receive benefits such as private rooms and guarantee of chosen handle. These rooms have moderators, which means that if you break any of their site rules you may be asked to leave.
YAHOO CHAT
http://chat.yahoo.com
Free and very popular chatsite. This is very difficult to register on. You must devise a chat name and password as in most chat sites, but you must also give them your e-mail addy for verification (hint: when applying for a chat name, add a number to the end of it). Java style with many options to choose from for posting, i.e. choice of icon, letter color and font.
Other Chat Styles
ICQ (“I seek you”)
www.mirabilis.com
Mirabilis contends that it has 23 million subscribers at present, with 800,000 users online simultaneously. After downloading and initiating the program, there are two ways to chat on ICQ: one is to send messages to others on your ICQ “list”, a sort of instant e-mail. This is very simple and pleasant when you want to multitask, as you can do other things while waiting for the recipient(s) to send you back a message. You can also create a room for yourself and one or more to chat. The typing is shown r/t, that is you actually see the words as they are being written. This is not a good method for those that are either very slow or poor typists, for all “typos” are instantly witnessed as they are occurring. It is even possible for one to talk through a microphone and finally hear what your chatfriends sound like, or each hook up a camera and see the other.
PEOPLELINK
www.peoplelink.com
This program claims 1.5 million subscribers and must also be downloaded. After installation, it will alert you when others on your “buddy list” are online and available for chat. Posting is one line at a time, and a viable alternative to those whose computers cannot utilize ICQ.
POWWOW
www.tribalvoice.com
You must also download this program before you can participate. They allege to have over 5 million subscribers and 1800 rooms in addition to a private chat that is similar to ICQ. In POWWOW you can not only play games with others and send midis, you can also use a type of voice chat that resembles a 2 way radio.
This list could be endless, but it is at least a good start for those of you who would like to seek chat. If these are not enough and you still seek the ultimate room to make your home, chat searches such as this one is available. Happy chatting!!
CHATSEEK
http://www.chatseek.com
This site will direct you to at least 500 chatsites by category. There are over 300 general links and over 250 adult links.
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