What Are Date Chat Rooms?
Along with online personals and matching services, date chat rooms have changed the way potential romantic partners meet and get to know one another. Many chat rooms are organized around a common theme, such as a particular age range or ethnic group, which can be an advantage. However, there are potential dangers, and users of date chat rooms should take caution and use common sense.
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Date Chat Rooms Defined
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Date chat rooms are not rooms in the physical sense. Instead, they are online channels people "enter" by one of several means. Chatters may be required to create a profile, post a photo, create a screen name or any combination of these actions before they are allowed to join in the interchange. Date chat room "conversations" take place in real time. Most often, the chat is typed onto a computer screen that all the participants can see. Sometimes chats use voice over Internet (VoIP), which allows the participants to hear each others' voices.
Online Chat Rooms vs Instant Messaging
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Like date chat rooms, instant messaging takes place in real time. However, instant messaging is nearly always a semi-private chat between two individuals. Another difference is that instant messaging often occurs between two people who have established a prior connection, either in real life or in cyberspace. Date chat rooms, on the other hand, usually feature conversations between people encountering one another for the first time.
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Online Chat Rooms vs Virtual Worlds
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Many romantic encounters take place in virtual world environments such as Second Life. However, the stated purpose of virtual worlds is a widely-encompassing "in-world" experience which is not limited to dating. Another difference is that date chat rooms are static, whereas virtual worlds allow participants to move around a variety of environments in the form of avatars.
Online Chat Rooms vs Telephone Chat Lines
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The major difference between online chat rooms and telephone chat lines is the technology involved: telephones vs computers. However, many telephone chat lines are actually prerecorded greetings which are played in sequence. Participants can send messages or requests for private chats based on the appeal of a person's greeting. Some telephone chat lines also feature spoken profiles where participants can find out more information about the person behind the greeting.
Warning
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As with any service where strangers meet, there is potential danger involved. It is never a good idea to give out too much personal information in an online chat room. If two people decide to meet, they should use common sense and schedule the meeting in a public place. For women especially, it's wise to let a friend know where the scheduled meeting is taking place. Another potential danger is for minors who use chat rooms. In some cases, much older people--mostly male but not always--prey on young people, sometimes pretending to be young themselves, to take advantage of them sexually.
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