Online chat may refer to any kind of
communication over the
Internet that offers a
real-time transmission of
text messages from sender to receiver. Chat messages are generally short in order to enable other participants to respond quickly. Thereby, a feeling similar to a spoken conversation is created, which distinguishes chatting from other text-based online communication forms such as
Internet forums and
email. Online chat may address
point-to-point communications as well as
multicast communications from one sender to many receivers and voice and
video chat, or may be a feature of a
web conferencing service.