Web chat

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A web chat is a chat system that takes place as a web application solely via the participant's browser. The participants do not need any special chat software (" client "). This makes web chat more accessible, especially for less technically experienced users.

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You can basically differentiate between four forms of web chat.

  • Text chats are the original form of web chats, but only allow communication via text.
  • In addition to text communication, 2D chat, or avatar chat, allows a virtual landscape, usually a photo or drawing, and depicts chatters with avatars . This form of web chat is very popular with anime fans because you can interact with the characters Can represent favorite series.
  • In principle, 3D chat offers the same functions as 2D chat, only three-dimensional. Although based on reality, the operation of 3D chats is more difficult because there are many more possibilities for movement in the room.
  • Real-world chats are chats in which you can also chat with your own voice or webcam . Due to the high volume of data, webcam chats are only possible with a few users in a room.

History and technology

The history of web chat has been shaped by trends in the underlying web technologies. The first web chats used simple interfaces from dynamically created HTML pages ( CGI ). The use of HTML pages allowed, among other things, the use of fonts, colors, links and images, which meant an advantage over the older text-based chat services such as IRC . The biggest downside to HTML web chats was their lack of interactivity. Sending messages to the chat server required a complete reload of the website. Receiving new messages also meant that web pages had to be reloaded regularly. This could lead to delays, flickering when loading pages and constant, disruptive browser activity. For these reasons, pure HTML web chats have largely declined.

Java applet technology has been in web browsers since 1995 . Java offers networking and graphics capabilities. This makes it a popular platform for building web interfaces. Although there are some disadvantages with Java chats, such as long loading times when starting, the technology has proven itself and is still used today.

Since 2005 new web technologies like Ajax and Flash have found their way. A disadvantage is the incomplete network capability of the programming languages JavaScript and ActionScript , but these technologies offer good support for graphic functions and interactivity and are therefore often used as the basis for modern web chats.

Server software

Well-known software for operating your own web chat server:

Software that offers a web frontend (e.g. requires an IRC server):

See also

Web links