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Once inside, you will probably find yourself in the middle of an ongoing conversation. Take a few minutes to se what is going on. There's no harm in lurking for a while before you join in. In fact it's common for chat rooms to have more lurkers than chatters. New messages appear at the top or bottom of the list.

You can send a message to everyone in the chat room or send a message to a specific person in that chat room. However, if you are sending a message to a particular person, everyone in the chat room is still able to read your message. Some chat rooms allow you set up private rooms where you can invite just the people you want to chat to.

Once you feel confident enough to participate in the discussion, type your message in the blank box at the bottom of your screen and click the Talk button or press the Enter or Return key on your keyboard. To minimize the amount of typing, people often use abbreviated text (like those used for texting on mobiles). Soon your message will be posted in the chat room and people may respond.

While chats can offer an engaging experience, proceed with caution. Use common sense. Remember that all your postings are public. Even if it appears that there is only one other person in a room, others can be lurking. Don't give out personal information to strangers you meet online, certainly not your address, phone number or credit card account.