Internet Chat-often called Internet Relay Chat, or IRC-is kind of like one of those 900-number telephone chat lines, except you use your keyboard instead of a telephone, and you don't run up bills at $1.99 or more per minute. When you enter a chat room, you can just "listen" to conversations (called lurking), or you can join in. And you don't have to use your real name; you can choose a nickname and remain as anonymous as you want!

You access Internet Relay Chat with a special program called an IRC client, which you use to log onto an IRC server on a specific IRC network. In addition, many Web sites provide Web-based Chat services that you can access with any Web browser.

Chatting can be fun, but it's also very public and very unstructured. What if you just want to "talk" to another online user, in a more private fashion, one-on-one?

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Figure 1.2  Entertainment Forums are among Netscape Community Forums on the Netscape Netcenter Web site.

If you find chat rooms crowded and chaotic, you might want to try instant messaging instead. Instant messaging programs, such as Netscape AOL Instant Messenger, let you send short electronic messages back and forth to another online user without entering a public chat room. Instant messaging programs also allow you to compile "buddy lists" and alert you when your buddies are online. With instant messaging you can engage in real-time one-on-one conversations with other Internet users. It's faster than email, free, and more private than chat rooms.

Instant Messenger Chat  The latest version of AOL Instant Messenger lets you initiate group chat sessions and real-time single-chat sessions in addition to the standard instant messaging functions.

Figure 1.3 shows you a typical Netscape AOL Instant Messenger session.

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