Janae Smith 11:30, 7 Sep 2004 (EST) Youth_Culture_and_New_Technologies
A chat room permits users to converse in real time with each other via the computer while connected to the Internet. To participate in a chat, you and others connect to a server on the Internet. As you type on your keyboard, a line of characters and symbols display on the computer screen. Others connected to the same chat room server also can see what you have typed. In some chat rooms, you can click a button to see a personal profile of someone in the chat room. Chats typically specified to a certain topic such as computer or cooking. Some chat rooms support voice chat and video chats, where you can hear and see others and they can hear or see you while in the chat room. Radio chats play music while you chat. (Shelly, Cashman, Vermaat:2002)
Chat rooms are similar to conference calls, everyone is online at the same time. You can watch chat without joining in, or you can join the conversation at anytime. Some chat sessions are open discussions, while others are moderated by host. One of the more popular chat sites on the web is Yahoo ChatYahoo Chat, [1].(Shelly, Cashman, Vermaat:2002) Some chat rooms go beyond text messages, and incorporate 2D and 3D graphics and avatars. One example of a 2D chat room is The Palace The Palace, [2]. Other chat rooms are based on worldwide communities coming together in one place where you can literally chat with people from anywhere around the world e.g. Face MeetFace Meet, [3] (http://www.facemeet.com)
Chat rooms are often confused especially by the popular media with discussion groups, which are similar but do not take place in real time and are usually run over the World wide web. (http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Chat_room) Before chatting, it is important to understand how chat rooms work. Chat rooms have their own special cyberlingo and a set or rules ,netiquette for online behavior. In a chat room there will be many abbreviations. How you act and treat others online also is very important.
However chat rooms pose a threat to users, especially children who can also be in danger of under-developing their social skills by relying on Internet chat as their primary source of communication. Addiction can be an outcome that needs monitoring by parents or carers. There is however, a greater potential danger that can occur with children using chat rooms and instant messaging programs. Participants in chat rooms will sometimes attempt to entice children into talking about sex in one form or another and paedophiles have been found in chat rooms in jurisdictions all over the world.
There have been cases where children have met up with these people and as a consequence, have been seriously abused or worse. Paedophiles will try to make as many online relationships as possible, in order to find a child who will be willing to meet them. They rely on creating a sense of trust by listening to problems and pretending to be interested in what the children are doing. (http://www.netalert.net.au/01465-What-are-the-potential-dangers-of-Chat-Rooms.asp)
Australian Government Net Alert Limited http://www.netalert.net.au/01465-What-are-the-potential-dangers-of-Chat-Rooms.asp (accessed 10th October 2004)
Shelly, Cashman, Vermaat (2002) Discovering Computers 2003, USA, Thomson Learning, ISBN 0789565145
Word IQ http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Chat_room (accessed 20th October 2004)
Janae Smith 22:01, 27 Oct 2004 (EST)
Janae Smith 10:23, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
