Editing Online chat (section)

{{Short description|Real-time communication over the internet}}
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[[File:Gossip-chat.png|thumb|300px|In this typical online chat program, the window to the left shows a list of contacts, and the window to the right shows a conversation between the user and one of those contacts.]]
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'''Online chat''' is any direct text-, audio- or video-based ([[webcam]]s), one-on-one or one-to-many ([[chat room|group]]) chat (formally also known as [[synchronous conferencing]]), using tools such as [[instant messenger]]s, [[Internet Relay Chat]] (IRC), [[talker]]s and possibly [[Multi-user dungeon|MUD]]s or other [[online game]]s. Online chat includes [[Web application|web-based applications]] that allow communication – often directly addressed, but anonymous between users in a multi-user environment. [[Web conferencing]] is a more specific online service, that is often sold as a service, hosted on a web server controlled by the vendor. Online chat may address [[Point-to-point (telecommunications)|point-to-point]] communications as well as [[multicast]] communications from one sender to multiple receivers and voice and video chat, or may be a feature of a [[web conferencing]] service.

''Online chat'' in a narrower sense is any kind of [[communication]] over the [[Internet]] that offers a [[real-time text|real-time]] transmission of [[text-based|text]] messages from sender to receiver. Chat messages are generally short in order to enable other participants to respond quickly. Thereby, a feeling similar to a [[natural language|spoken conversation]] is created, which distinguishes chatting from other text-based online communication forms such as [[Internet forum]]s and [[email]]. The expression ''online chat'' comes from the word ''[[Wikt:chat|chat]]'' which means "informal conversation".

'''Synchronous conferencing''' or '''synchronous computer-mediated communication''' ('''SCMC''') is any form of [[computer-mediated communication]] that occurs in real-time; that is, there is no significant delay between sending and receiving messages.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Abrams |first=Zsuzsanna Ittzes |date=2003-04-30 |title=The Effect of Synchronous and Asynchronous CMC on Oral Performance in German |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1540-4781.00184 |journal=The Modern Language Journal |language=en |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=157–167 |doi=10.1111/1540-4781.00184 |issn=0026-7902|url-access=subscription }}</ref> SCMC includes real-time forms of text, audio, and [[Videotelephony|video communication]]. SCMC has been highly studied in the context of [[e-learning]].<ref name="ref 01" />