Chatting
Wait! First turn your speakers or sound up so you can hear this midi file...ahhhh, that's better. I don't know why some are louder than others but I really like this one and I want you to hear it. OK, thanks. Now, what was I talking about? Chatting...of course!
Hmmm, what can I say about this, it is so fascinating for me. Someone in my family got me started in chatting and I haven't been the same since. It can really change your life and I've met some amazing and fantastic people this way and they have become very dear friends.
One in particular, Paulo (the one from Portugal), has become a great friend and we have met for real, he's moved here to Austin now. Really. Yes, yes, I was a cynic too, but just give it a try and you might be surprised. I think it is because you can get to know someone safely, and inside..inside their mind I mean...what they are really like inside and whether you are really compatible. What better way to base a relationship than on the ability to reeeeally talk, right?
And mostly, I've made some lifetime friends through chatting. I visited some of them, especially Martien and Jos's families, in May/June of 2000 and I've known them for over three years already online.
A friend of mine's sister went to Scotland where she visited a couple she also met in Internet and she had a GREAT time! I'm pondering how Internet is changing the world in this way, making it smaller. Yes, you need to be very cautious of course, but if it's someone you've known for a long time and you and they have talked to friends and families and shared parts of your lives (web cams, videos, phone calls, pictures, etc.) and you feel really comfortable with them, go for it. Hotels are probably not too happy with it, but what a great way to really see another country, from people who actually live there, not tourist stuff, real life.
For 'chat rooms' I'm only familiar with Microsoft Chat and it's pretty fun. You can download it through the link further down on this page. I also use ICQ from Mirabilis and it's an entirely different type. And a while back, I was introduced to ICUII or ICU2 (thanks Eddie). It works in conjunction with ICQ but you don't have to have ICQ to use it. And of course, there is NetMeeting.
But let me tell you a little more about these two, starting with MS Chat. You can choose to be a cartoon character or use it in text mode. I really like the cartoon mode because you can use expressions on the faces. When you go in, be sure to set your View settings, to pick a character, etc. And then you can either look for individuals by clicking on the member list to see who is in or you can click to see a list of the rooms. There are some preset rooms in the program or anyone can make up their own room. You can easily create a room and invite only the people you want, this is nice if you want a private conversation, and there are many ways to make it private. But to start with, you might want to get a list of rooms and then go to one to just observe for a while. Another thing to know is that you can "whisper" or be "whispered". If you see a bubble of text above a character's head in the cartoon and the bubble is a broken line, that means that person is "whispering" you, and only you can see it. Cool, hunh? It takes a little getting used to but I think you will love it. We sure have. You can meet anyone from anywhere in the world and you should. I should also warn you that anything and everything is out there...some of the rooms are supervised by hosts who will kick out people who go beyond the scope of the room. But, hey, the room content or type of room it is shows in the description on the room list, so go to something that suits your taste, and be open-minded. Also, don't be shy, jump in and start talking, you can meet some wonderful people this way.
ICQ is an entirely different system. It's best if you already know someone who is also using it. You create a personal list of people to show in your group. It's more personalized, not really existing rooms full of people. What I like about it is that you can leave messages for people, even if they are not online. File transfers are also nice here because you can bundle many together to send at once. You can also "float" a user's name on your screen and tell immediately when they get online. And, maybe the funniest and most endearing thing is that you can actually watch the other person typing if you go into the Chat mode. It's a whole 'nother experience.
If you have a sound card, microphone, and speakers or headphones (and I really hope you do because otherwise you are not hearing the midi files on my pages or some of my links), you might also be interested in Microsoft NetMeeting. It's a way to talk and see someone through your computer, I mean talk, like on the phone...real voices, really talking and real live video. So cool! Your computer actually rings like a telephone and you can either answer the call or not.
ICUII works very much like NetMeeting but way easier I think. No hassles about connecting AND the video of someone is about four times bigger than NetMeeting.
Okay, have I got you curious enough yet to try them out? Good! I hope to see you there. I use the nickname Shauna (yes, original, I know) in MS Chat and ICUII and my UIN is 2129615 in ICQ.
Here's where you can go get the software:
Microsoft Chat (oh, get the Additional Characters pack here too., you can even get a program that lets you design your own character, if you have the skill.)
ICUII - this is a trial version for 21 days but it's very cool and not that expensive if you understand what I mean.
Click the wheel to go to my home port.
All corked and bottled messages can be floated to shauna@texas.net.
This page was last updated on 10/17/00.