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Hi. For all those of you who have just purchased a PC and have just acquired an Internet connection the first instinct is to log on and make contact with your fellow surfers. Yes indeed, everybody wants to 'chat' and it is this chat phenomenon that I will discuss in this column and give all you newcomers to the world of Internet chat some useful tips, pointers and advice.
In the initial days of the Internet in India and as early on as two years ago only a few could afford the luxury of spending countless hours in virtual chat rooms looking for
new friends. But today with the Internet prices at their lowest and still dipping, hundreds of thousands of people have flocked to this virtual utopia. I have been fortunate enough to witness this Internet boom first hand. The boom can also be gauged to some extent from the presence of hundreds of Indian chat rooms, which have sprung up to cater to the demands of the growing Indian cyber population. Conservative psychologists will tell you that most men/women who spend hours and hours sitting in a dimly lit room pecking away at their keyboards trying to chat up other men/women they have never before encountered, and whose identity they know nothing about, would be referred to as socially challenged or people who have difficulties in connecting with other people in the real world. But even though that view may hold true for some people, I do not subscribe to it entirely and wholeheartedly. I am convinced that a silent revolution is underway. Everyday millions of people across the world are using their personal computers to communicate with each other. And this communication is taking place via a medium that has scant respect for any borders, be it natural or manmade. The world has shrunk and the promise of a global village suddenly seems to hold true. Thus if the Internet is changing the way that we communicate it is also changing the way that we
make friends…!
I shall begin this week with the chat rooms or virtual meeting places where more often than not the seeds of online romances are sown. People log on to chat rooms to make new friends, keep up with existing ones and if you are between 15 and 50 chances are that at some point you would have entered a chat room with the express purpose of looking to spice up your life with a little romance.
The first thing to do is to acquire software that you will need to chat or communicate or message. This is known as IRC software or software used for Internet Relay Chat. One can chat either in a web-based format, for which your browser is sufficient, or by downloading what is known as a chat client. Some of the more popular chat clients are mIRC and PIRCH and these can be easily downloaded and installed from
http://www.download.com Once installed you are ready to log on to the chat room of your choice or the city of your residence for e.g.
#Pune, #Bombay, #Delhi etc.
To chat in a web-based format you simply have to go to your favorite portal web-site such as
http://www.yahoo.com or http://www.rediff.com or
http://www.indiatimes.com Just click on the chat icon and follow the step by step instructions to register yourself after which all you have to do is log in and voila, your browser takes care of the rest and you are set to chat away to your hearts content.
(My own nickname/handle on the Internet is Ankx so if you do happen to come across it, do say hi!)
And once you meet that special person in a chat room staying in touch can be very easy with the help of instant communication software called ICQ (derived from 'I seek you'). ICQ is a wildly popular piece of software and over 30 million people across the world have downloaded it so far. It is basically an Internet pager into which you feed in the names of your friends. When you connect to the Internet and if any of your friends from that list are online at the same time, the software will alert you and then you have a variety of options such as real time chat, file sharing, voice mail etc. ICQ is without doubt my favourite communication tool and you could download and install it from
http://www.download.com Do also visit their parent web-site at
http://www.icq.com
Onto some fun stuff now and if you are a swinging single you could check out the countless web-sites that cater to matching singles with each other. One such site is the much hyped
http://www.inmatch.com which not so long ago introduced its personals, matchmaking and online dating facility. All you have to do is create your personal profile and let the site match you with someone whose listed preferences match yours. You could also browse through other member profiles or search for particular people. In my experience it is best to take such web-sites with a pinch of salt and not let the disappointment get to you if you are unable to meet the woman or man of your dreams.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of being extremely careful and aware while chatting or interacting with others on the Internet for you never really know if the person you just met is being honest with you or not. Even though you will meet some wonderful people on the Internet it is always best to keep up a cautious front and this especially holds true for women who are often the targets of online stalkers, deviants and social misfits. There do not exist any clear provisions in Indian law as of now to deter the online stalker or people who consistently harass others online. So the best advice I can give all you women out there is to be cautious. Please under any circumstances do not give out any personal information such as addresses or real names or phone numbers in public chat rooms and while talking in private too it is best to restrict the amount of personal information you would venture to the other person. If you do agree to meet an online friend for the first time I urge you to pick a public place or popular hang out with lots of people around rather than a secluded spot.
Well, that's all for this week but do send in your suggestions and comments, and log in at the same time, same place, next week.
(Ankush Gupta is a freelance writer and has a passion for all things tech.)
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