Talk & Chat Topics
Disclaimer
IRCs can be dangerous. They can take up an inordinate amount of your time. They can be addictive. There are times when sharing on-line information is appropriate, but don't forget that your real-life relationships are more important. If you really want to communicate with a friend, use the telephone.
Never give out any personal information (name, number, address, credit, etc.) to anybody. Never assume that the other person is always telling the truth. Never assume that the other person is who or what he/she says. Never agree to meet an on-line acquaintance in a private place or without someone to chaperone.
Never allow children to use IRC unless you are with them to supervise them at all times.
"Diversions: Many ways to waste time, both yours and the network's are available on the Internet. Some people read recreational newsgroups. Others talk to other people or play games. There is fairly wide disagreement about the validity of these uses. For this reason, I don't want to encourage you. But if I didn't tell you about them, you'd find out they exist on your own." -- The Whole Internet - O'Reilly & Associates
And... how much time do you really want to spend talking to people who spend their lives chatting online with strangers?
Definitions
Talk = two-way conversations
Chat = group discussions
IRC = Internet Relay Chat = like CB radio for the Internet
Live, interactive, real-time, on-line discussions (Public or private)
There are thousands of channels, each with a particular topics.
MUDs = Multi-User Dungeons = Multi-User Domain = Multi-User Dimension, etc.
MOOs = MUDs Object Oriented
MUDs, MUSH, tinyMUD, MUSE, MOO, etc.
MUDs were created around 1980 as a network-accessible version of the
Dungeons and Dragons adventure game. You could create a character,
wander through the dungeon, meet other characters, fight various foes,
and accumulate treasures and experience. MUDs are games in which
people interact with each other and their surroundings.
Handle = Nickname
Bot = Robot = program to automate some of the interaction.
Pub = Public = Visible
Hack = Channel's name
@NickName = NickName of current channel operator
Commands:
/list -min 20
/who #channel
/join #ChannelName
/part #ChannelName
/whois NickName
/msg NickName
/quit
Talk
It seems that the terms Talk and Chat are often used interchangeably. Most IRC programs will allow you to Talk one-on-one to anybody else on the channel. See Chat (below).
CU-SeeMe: - White Pine Software
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Chat