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A chat online is much like a chat offline, except the folks you're chatting with may be in their pajamas in Anchorage or at the pyramids in Cairo. Chats, conducted live, in private chat "rooms," or in large chat "rooms" teeming with furiously typing participants, cover every topic from gardening to ghosts. Chat is popular on America Online, IRC and many Web sites. Here are a few ways to go about it: GETTING STARTED Depending on your ISP, you will have access to different forums in which to chat. For example, America Online users chat with each other in what AOL calls chat rooms. Some diehard online folks like to converse using Internet Relay Chat or IRC You can also chat through the Web without having to download a special IRC program. Check out some of the Web channels by looking at www.100hot.com/chat/ JOIN A CHAT ROOM Who wouldn't be wary entering a chat room for the first time? It's a little like being at a party and joining a conversation that's already under way. One thing that will help you is to sit back and just read people's comments for a bit. You'll get the feel of the place before you start chatting. 1. Choose a Name. Now you can finally be referred to as FifiLaRue...or a nickname you've always dreamed of having. However, any name you choose lasts only for that particular chat session. So if you have a conversation with Daisy today, that Daisy might not be the same Daisy you chat with tomorrow. Fill Out a Chat Form. With some programs, you might have to fill in your name, e-mail address and chat-server address. It's a good idea not to use your real name, but you will have to use your real e-mail address. 2. Choose a Room. Some chat rooms (or channels) are just for socializing. Others are for discussing specified topics. For example, you might choose the room called Romance, Pregnancy or Weddings. (Not necessarily in that order!) Or, you can also start your own. 3. Chat. Talk. Gab. Discuss. Just remember to use chat "netiquette" and feel free to use some emoticons and acronym shortcuts. CHAT PRIVATELY You can choose to chat privately with someone, but make sure you read our Web Savvy section first! Each provider has a different way of having you start a new chat room. In America Online, you click on Enter a Private Chat. You must know the name of the room you're joining, or you can create your own. CHATTING WITH A CELEBRITY GUEST One of the really cool things about Internet chat is spending time online with a famous author, movie star, or sports hero. Many Web sites and online service providers, such as AOL, schedule live "celebrity chats." Find out who is scheduled and for what time. Check with your Internet provider, look in newspapers and magazines, or you can always check oxygen.com to see what great guests are scheduled that day and week. You can also find out about lots of scheduled celebrity chats at a site fittingly called Yack. EVENTS Besides having celebrities online, you can often chat with people in real time during a specific live event. For example, you might be able to chat with astronauts while they're in space, geologists on a trek to Mount Everest, or even fellow political boosters as they travel with your favorite candidate on the campaign trail. These exciting cyber tent shows are often well-publicized. Also, check Oprah.com and Oxygen sites for lots of great live chat events. print this lesson | back to lesson main page Visit the chat room at Oprah.com, or at any number of Oxygen's many sites for women. You get extra "extra credit" if you say something!