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Definitions[]

Chat refers to

software, such as Internet Relay Chat (“IRC”), [which] permit[s] multiple users to converse by selecting one of many discussion ‘channels’ active at any time.”[1] "Commercial on-line services such as America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy, and the Microsoft Network offer their own chat systems for their members. Having joined a channel, the user can see and read messages transmitted by other users, each identified by a name the user selects upon joining the channel. Individual participants in IRC discussions know other participants only by the names they choose upon entering the discussion; users can participate anonymously by using a pseudonym."[2]
an interaction on a Web site, with a number of people adding text items one after the other, into the same space (a "chatroom") at (almost) the same time. Chatting is usually accomplished by typing on the keyboard, not speaking, and each message is transmitted directly to the recipient.
[t]he capability for two or more users operating on different computers to exchange text messages in real time. Chat is distinguished from instant messaging (IM) by being focused on group chat, or room-based chat.[3]

References[]

  1. Shea v. Reno, 930 F. Supp. 916, 928 (S.D.N.Y. 1996).
  2. Id.
  3. Unified Capabilities, Framework 2013, App. C, at C-7 (full-text).

See also[]

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