Chat Programs & Chat Services

• Paltalk - This seriously cool free audio chat program lets you make unlimited free calls worldwide. Paltalk offers the best sound quality of any free telephony program we've tried. There's a good FAQ here to help you get started. (Requires Windows 98, 95 or NT, a sound card, a microphone and speakers).
  • New version offers text chat, as well as group voice chat. Users may now create their own groups; join existing groups or create private groups.
• irc.ram-page.com - Here's a promising, fast-growing free IRC server that offers access via either the Web or an IRC client (such as mIRC) They also offer a free service that lets Webmasters easily set up a chat room on their own page. Note: they do not allow porn or warez (illegally pirated software). (New "TriviaServ" feature lets you play a fun trivia game on IRC).  
• Webmaster.com
  Get your own chatroom on your website!!
• Gooey 2.0 - Tired of surfing alone? This unique freeware program from Israel allows you to chat with other people who are browsing the same sites that you're visiting. Gooey offers group and private chats and helps you make new friends on the Web, as well as exchange tips and information. Features include a "buddy list," file transfers and even a news feed. (For Windows 98/95 and NT).
• Delphi - You can easily set up your private chat "forum," using Delphi, an excellent free service. Delphi also offers customized message boards, as well as free Web sites. You can promote and share your interests; meet like-minded people; keep in touch with family; schedule and advertise events; and more.
• Chatterbox - This new site offers a roundup of 11 free Java chat networks. You may either chat here, or, if you have a Web site of your own, you may place one of these chat networks on your page.
• Planet K - (This service has been temporarily suspended). A new free service that allows you to easily add a Java-based chat server to your Web page. You can also customize it to make it consistent with your site. All you have to do is cut and paste a script that they provide. No adult sites. Linkback required. Works with WebTV.
• Yack - Looking for a good chat on the Web? This site offers the most comprehensive roundup of daily chat events on the Net. Here, you'll find chat events arranged by topic and time, as well as other details, (such as whether the chat is moderated and what software is required to access the chat). Categories include music, books, TV & films, sports, computers, health & science, romance, education, business, travel and more.
• Pagoo - Has it become impossible for your friends to contact you by phone because you're always online? Then check out Pagoo, an innovative way to communicate between you and your friends. Pagoo is a free unique service that delivers phone calls to the user's desktop while they are online. Your callers can leave you a voice mail or a numeric message just like a pager. (For Windows). (No longer free, but a 30-day free, no obligation trial is available).
• QuickChat - Do you wish you have a better way of interacting with your site's visitors? Do you wish you could run a chat server, but don't know how? Here's an easy solution. With QuickChat, all you need to do is cut and paste some coding to your page and presto: you have your own chat room. This Java-based chat applet offers lots of options and is accessible via a regular IRC client (such as mIRC). New features include a "Trivia Channel," an administrative center and more options for customizing your chat applet.
• Multicity.com - A major free chat provider, Multicity.com offers chat rooms for both personal use and for businesses. Multicity.com offers fast-loading Java-based chat rooms that may be either public or private. Your chat room's topic, description, colors and fonts can be customized. Rooms are available in 15 different languages. You may also list your chat room in their extensive directory, if you want extra visitors.
• OnChat - A impressive, state-of-the-art free visual chat service. Here, you select an "avatar" (a graphical representation of yourself) and then you may roam around large, colorful graphical worlds, populated by real people (who're also representated by avatars). No downloads are required; it's all Java-based (which means you should have a relatively new browser). If you haven't tried this sort of chat before, give it a shot: it's quite fun. There's a helpful tutorial for newbies. (For Windows 98/95 and NT and Macs).
  • Loading the Java applet will take about a minute on a 28.8 modem. You should have Netscape 3.0 or Internet Explorer 3.0 or more recent.
  • If you register here (which is free), you'll be able to create your own chat world, custom avatar and Web page.
• Chatway.com - This new service offers a free online chat community, as well as message boards and chat rooms for your own Web site. For more experienced users, there are instructions on connecting to Chatway.com via an IRC client, such as mIRC.
• AbbottChat: chat program - (No longer freeware, but a time-limited free demo is available). Here's a cool chat program for PCs and Macs that informs you when your friends are online and allows you to send "alerts" (instant messages that you can send to selected folks or your entire list). AbbottChat supports private chat, instant messaging and file transfers. It's fast and requires no cumbersome log-on or registration.(For Win 95/98/NT and PowerMac with Sys 7.5 or later). The file is 866 kilobytes.
• Greek Chat - Interested in Hellenistic culture? Then click over to this new Java-based chat room. The content here is oriented toward Greece, but everyone is welcome at this family-friendly chat room.
• ICQ 99b beta - A must-have instant messaging program from Israel that ranks as one of the Web's most useful freeware programs. ICQ's features could fill a book but the most important innovation it offers is "awareness" (the ability to determine whether other people are online at a given moment). ICQ also allows you to transfer files; travel in groups to different Web pages; play sound effects and much more. The program is very easy to use and has a very attractive and useful interface that allows you to keep track of several simultaneous conversations.
  • The newest version (99b beta) adds helpful features, such as message archiving, which gives you a complete record of every communication you've sent or received. There's also an easy-to-use organizer functions, as well as a "Whitepages" feature which acts as an ICQ search engine for finding ICQ users according to a wide variety of search criterium.
  • There's an entire galaxy of add-ons to enhance ICQ. But one of the most useful we've found is the freeware program called ICQ Rescue. This handy little program makes it easy for you to create a backup of your ICQ contact list, your bookmarks and your message history, so they can be easily restored.
• Chat Town U.S.A. - A free service that offers chat rooms for all ages. Visitors here can choose from over 380 chat rooms. Setting up an account is easy and should take around two minutes. Note: "inappropriate language" not allowed.
• Palace Chat - Palace is a easy-to-use major chat service, with regularly scheduled live events and hundreds of virtual graphical environments to roam around. You can access this innovative chat community for free as a "guest" for as long as you like. Just download the software client to get started. You can also experience "InstantPalace," which lets you check out the service without the hassle of a download (but your browser needs to support Java). If you become a "member," (which costs $39.95), you get extra bells and whistles. (For Windows and Macs).
• PeopleLink - This excellent free software service enables you to communicate instantly with people online. PeopleLink gives you "interactive messaging", a new medium that combines the best features of E-mail (ease-of-use, safety and selectivity) with the one major advantage of chat, interactivity. (For Windows and Macs).
• MaxiChat - A French-based free chat service that allows you to create your own chat rooms. Features include "whispering," one-on-one chat and a "buddy list" (an address book to help you find chatters). MaxiChat services are also available for Australia, Britain, France, Quebec, Belgium, and Switzerland. Note: MaxiChat tends to be busier at night, when you can encounter 25 to 50 people chatting.
• mIRC & Eggdrop Archives - An essential site for users of mIRC, the Web's top chat program. This informative site will help you get the most out of mIRC and offers many scripts, bots and add-ons for this chat client. There's also assistance here for using Eggdrop, the popular advanced IRC robot.
• XiRCON free chat client - This is a new free beta program that is highly configurable and easy to use. Many features, including an excellent interface and the ability to instantly minimize itself to the Windows tray. It also automatically remembers your favorite servers, channels and chat buddies. Also supports connection to many servers at once, without launching a separate copy of the program. Screenshot here.
• Microsoft NetMeeting - With this cool program, you can hold "virtual meetings." NetMeeting offers various tools to communicate and collaborate with others on the Web. It lets you hold voice and video conferences, share software applications, chat, and share a whiteboard.
• OzChat - This free service lets you chat in "public rooms" and gives you the ability to create your own private room. Just click on "Create Room," and follow the instructions. Once a week, each room created will have its contents cleared and after 7 days of inactivity, these rooms will automatically be erased. This is a good chat service from Australia (although the site loads quickly for those in the U.S.)
• PowWow - PowWow is a popular free communications program for the Internet that allows up to nine users to chat via text or voice; send files; view personal home pages and JPEG images; build bulletin boards, and cruise the Web together. It's ideal for setting up virtual communities, in which you can control the actions of your visitors. PowWow also has a cool feature called "InstaVoice," that allows users to record and send messages of up to one minute in length (15 kilobytes) with automatic 50:1 compression. (For Windows 95/98/NT).
• Visual IRC - Powerful freeware chat client that features an Office 97-like user interface, voice chat and video conferencing. Visual IRC also offers an object-oriented scripting language (ViRCScript) and support for Active Scripting. Suitable for newbies and experiences users alike. The Web's top IRC client.
• Beseen.com - This rapidly-growing service (now a part of the Looksmart search portal) offers free chat rooms. Adding a chat room to your Web site is free and simple. There's nothing to download and there are no CGI programs to configure. To create your free chat room, visit their site and answer a few questions, and your chat room will be ready to go within minutes. Our visitors report service has been down from time to time lately and we've also had complaints about a lack of tech support.
• Active Worlds Browser -This is one of the all-around coolest freebies on the Web. It's a browser that lets you access AlphaWorld, a unique, 3D virtual community populated by real people. The Active Worlds universe boasts hundreds of thousands of users and thousands of kilometers of virtual territory. You can explore over 100 worlds in real-time, 3D, high-color graphics. You can even "own" land and build anything you'd like on your property, from a simple house to an elaborate palace (a process that is quite easy). Active Worlds is more than a piece of software; it's a way of life! 1.67 megabytes. (Note: you'll need a Pentium with Win 95/98/NT and 50 megs of hard drive space.)
• AOL Instant Messenger - This excellent program, once available only to AOL users, is now available to the entire online community. It offers many cool features. It allows you to see who's currently online and lets you send quick and private instant messages. It's "faster than E-mail and more fun than the phone." (Available for both Windows and Macs).

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