If talking is one thing, and conversation another, then what is chat?

In the early days of the internet, chatting was something that happened between strangers. "Wanna cyber?" millions of people asked, and millions answered: Yes! On AOL—as of 1994, the most popular internet service provider in the US—half the member-created chat rooms were for sex. AOL also launched the first mass IM interface, which was where the real action happened. Each conversation appeared as a flat, white square on your screen—it was like having sex on a tiled floor. But at least it was someone else’s floor. Signing off was like walking out of a public bathroom. #read Chathexis at n+1