Talk:Online chat

Imprecise terminology
I've looked around at various sources and found that "online chat" is often used to mean instant messaging, but can sometimes refer to any kind of synchronous conferencing, typically in chat rooms. Is "online chat" really a clearly defined concept that differs from these other concepts? Helpful Raccoon (talk) 08:18, 20 April 2024 (UTC)

Merge to Synchronous conferencing and move usable content to various articles
This isn't exactly a standard merge proposal, but I'm not sure what to do with this article. "Online chat" does not have a clear definition, and nothing in this article seems to cover what Instant messaging and Synchronous conferencing do not. The article's current state is a jumbled mess that mainly focuses on instant messaging, but also includes synchronous conferencing and computer-mediated communication in general.

This article is also a level-5 vital article, so it would also have to be removed from the list if it is merged.

Side note: this article was created at a time when "instant messaging" primarily referred to private messaging on commercial apps such as ICQ, excluding IRC and similar anonymous, group-based chat services. This definition is outdated, and instant messaging now refers to any kind of real-time text-based computer communication. Online chat encompassed what is now called instant messaging. Helpful Raccoon (talk) 18:01, 7 May 2024 (UTC)