The language of chatgroups 151
among their students is impressive, and the fact that several of
these features are found in other asynchronous group settings is
a persuasive argument for the status of this mode of electronic
communication as a linguistic variety.
Synchronous groupsIn a synchronous group, electronic interactions are taking place
in real time. But there are several ways of making this happen.
Some systems are designed to facilitate communication between
just two users; others among several users.Unix (orUNIX) Talkis
an early example of the first type.^42 A conversational exchange of
text can take place between two people, A and B: when a connection
is made, using a normal phone connection between e-addresses,
each person’s monitor screen is split into an upper half and a lower
half. Everything A types is displayed in the upper half of A’s screen
and the bottom half of B’s screen, and vice versa. The words are
displayed as they are typed, character by character. Both people can
be typing at the same time, with input coming in simultaneously
with output. The communication is private, like e-mail; there is
no moderator. Related Uni xdevelopments include aWritefacility
whichallowsAtosendaninstantmessagetosomeonewhoisalready
logged in: B is notified on screen that someone is trying to make
contact. There is also aYtalkfacility, which enablesTalkmessages
to be sent to more than one person.
Internet Relay Chat(IRC) is the chief example of the second
type.^43 This allows several users to be simultaneously in touch with
each other. They connect to one of the IRC servers on a partic-
ular network, and join one of thechannels(orchat rooms)held
there, each one devoted to a particular topic and prefixed by a hash
symbol. Some are identified by country name (e.g. #gb), some
by common interests (e.g. #sport, #poetry), some by age group
(^42) For UNIX, seehttp://www.bell-labs.com/history/unix.
(^43) ForIRC,seehttp://www.irchelp.org, Rheingold (1993). IRC data is the basis of a
study by Werry (1996).