chat

Definition/Scope: A chat is a form of social interaction via text that is conducted live. Some examples would be when a student sign into a virtual classroom at a designated time along with the instructor and other students. The instructor then carries on as in a live environment. Chat rooms can add a bigger sense of community among people who share common interests. Instead of waiting for other users to post back and forth (as in a forum), a chat room user can get ideas, share thoughts or get support instantaneously. This is especially useful when it comes to debating political or social issues. One of the downsides to chat rooms is that there always seems to be someone in the room who has no interest in the topic but just wants to interact in a rude manner. Many chat rooms will offer a "block user" feature so you can ignore that person.

Broader Terms:

Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System
Intellipedia
Internet relay chat
Local Area Network
Tactical Ground Reporting
Web 2.0
Wikipedia

Related Terms:

Army Professional forums
BCKS
blog
Combined Information Data Network Exchange
LandWarNet
milWiki
social network