Online chat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Online chat is a generic term for what are now mostly known as instant messaging applications - computer programs that 
enable two-way typing to connect users to each other.

However, there are net dating systems and other online services that do not use these applications to provide chat 
facilities, e.g. Delphi, often relying on HTTP-based protocols instead. Sometimes these are called a chat room or chat 
(http://www.facemeet.com) extending the physical metaphors of 'sites' and 'magazines' which many web services exploit. 
eg. Online Chat (http://www.facemeet.com)

Today there are many chatroom (http://www.pictari.com) sites, some incorporating instant messaging features without 
having to install additional chat (http://www.pictari.com) software.

Some of these systems also provide telephone voice mail access. These are usually known generically as just chat 
systems.

A chat log is a record of a chat. Sometimes this is put on the web, e.g. [1] (http://home.deds.nl/~wikichat/).

The earliest online chat system widely used was probably the Unix talk facility. The earliest one in general use was 
likely the French Minitel. During the 1980s, online chat was made available on CompuServe and DDial servers, and later 
on GEnie. In 1988, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) protocol, an instant messaging tool, was developed and became the de-facto 
standard for online chat.