yahoo.com

Yahoo.com has more than just news information etc, it has all the features of a typical web host but the real reason of this opinion is yahoo chat.

It offers its own version of MSN, AOL and ICQ, registered Yahoo’ers can download a simple messenger which is very similar to those listed.
This allows you to chat one to one instant message style, or add a contact; people with similar interests to yourself can be located easily through the people search.
File sharing and voice chat are available too as on other messengers, and the ability to change font styles, colours and emotions are included too.

As with MSN that requires you to have a Hotmail email account , you need to sign up to yahoo and get an email address, however you don’t have to use it, only to get your messenger, this notifies you while you are using it whether you have new mail and you can access it instantly from messenger.

Another good point here is that it is virtually Spam free, well I never received any anyway, this I always find a bonus as I hate all the rubbish some messengers throw at you!

However it does seem to used widely by the USA, and Australia and there don’t seem to be a lot of us Brits using it regularly enough.

Now if instant chat doesn’t appeal Yahoo has more to offer, chat rooms are listed on the main home page and there is something for everyone, from music to regional, so if you fancy popping into a foreign chat room and brushing up on your lingo there you go!.

I tend to steer clear of these larger chats, well with the exception of the one I will be mentioning shortly!, as I find they are full of sex crazed teenagers or hard up men who try to crack on to you. Failing that when you don’t know people you ask a question and get extremely frustrated when everyone seems to talk amongst themselves and pretend you don’t exist.

Now branching out into Yahoo, the other section is the Yahoogroups.com, this I already covered in an earlier opinion, however didn’t include the chat feature.

If you already have a Yahoo ID,(email address), you can access the Ciao group, once you are a member of Ciao which is run by Connoisseur Haggler (Ciao_uk), here members share tips , catch cheats and generally mull over the meaning of Ciao.

This site has a chat room for each group that’s made, including the Ciao_uk, here on joining the email group you will be able to access the chat room, this is the large room format and usually most popular in the evenings where various members of Ciao congregate to chat about ciao and generally have a bit of fun .

This chatroom is nice as everyone in either has heard of everybody else read their opinions and its nice to meet fellow writers.

There is also a pm box, which means that should you wish you can message one particular person in the room for a private chat! Or whatever!

Emotions allow you to laugh at others, sing, mumble, and even faint either to all the room or to one person again.

A box at the side tells you who is in the room and who is busy or away.

This is pretty fast for a chat room and only very rarely has problems. So if you want to chat about Ciao, you know where to go!