2.2.8 Online Chatting/Instant Messaging

Online chatting become popular as more people have access to the Internet. Big players include Microsoft Network (MSN), America Online and Yahoo. There are many small players in this field, however. In fact, anyone who runs a server capable of IRC (Internet Relay Chat) can facilitate chatrooms.

The use of chatrooms is best known for online dating and sex predators. However, chatrooms are also useful for serious and legitimate activities. For example, technical chatrooms are available for installing programs, operating systems, as well as to configure networks and diagnose computer related problems.

Instant messaging often includes the capability of voice communication and file transfer.

There are many different protocols for online chatting. IRC is the open and public protocol. MSNP (Mobile Status Notification Protocol) is used by MSN Messenger. AOL Instant Messenger uses OSCAR (Open System for CommunicAtion in Realtime), while AIM Express uses TOC (Talk to OsCar, a limited protocol based on OSCAR). ICQ also uses OSCAR.

Although big players like AOL and MSN try to ensure loyalty using proprietary chatting clients, there are many programs that can handle all mentioned protocols. Furthermore, many of these programs are open source, which means they are free to download, install and redistribute.