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Free Chat Programs & Chat Services
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Chatting may be the single most popular activity on the Net, outside of E-mail. Below we list a roundup of the Web's best and most popular chat programs and services. We also include some of the more cutting-edge programs that allow you to assume the form of an avatar and roam around a three-dimensional "virtual reality" world, chatting with others.
And we haven't left out Webmasters, either. We also list many of the top free services that allow you to easily set up your own chat room on your Web site. Send us E-mail if you'd like to submit a free chat program or service for us to consider for inclusion on The Free Site.
New: check out The Free Site's own chat room. Share your latest finds in the great quest for freebies. |
 AbbottChat: chat program - Here's a cool free 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.
 Planet K - 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.
 Channel Z - If you're new to the Web and haven't tried "chat" (communicating in real-time with other people online) then Channel Z is
a good place to try it out. It's very easy to get connected here. No complicated software to install. Just sign up and you can start chatting through your browser.
- 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). Membership (which gets you extra features) here once cost $39.95, but it's now free.
- 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).
- irc.ramlink.net - 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).
- 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.
- MultiChat - This site offering free Java-based chat room software for Web sites. Easy to set up. You can link your site's chat room to thousands of others. Nice interface and very speedy.
- Chat Alert Service - This unique free service is designed to help you find interesting chat rooms and chat events across the Net. By signing up for this service, you'll receive announcements from chat hosts and moderators who would like to invite you to visit their chat rooms and/or attend their chat events.
- 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.
- 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.
- ICQ chat program
- An incredible chat program from Israel that ranks as one of the Web's
coolest freeware programs. ICQ's features could fill a book: it 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.
- 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.)
- ichat Pager - With this cool client, you can be instantly connected to friends and associates and see who's on line. You may send messages instantly; participate in real-time discussions; and page friends 24 hours a day. Available for Windows 95/98/NT, as well as Unix and Macs.
- SneakerChat.com - SneakerChat, a Java-based program, allows anyone to set up a chat room on their Web site.
With SneakerChat, you do not need server software to set up your own rooms (as long as you are not going to use them from behind a firewall).
- 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).
- Kids PowWow - This is a version of PowWow for children up to age 13. It creates a fun, but protective environment for kids who want to use PowWow. Kids PowWow alerts children when an adult pages them, or when they page an adult. The PowWow for Kids home page provides conferences (which have profanity filters) and other features.
- 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 service is offering 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.
- Microsoft V-Chat - With this awesome client, you start by selecting an "avatar," (a graphical representation for yourself.) With your avatar you can chat, gesture, or explore 2D or 3D environments. Choose from a wide selection of avatars or make your own.
- 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! (Note: you need a Pentium with Win 95/NT and 24 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."
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