Here are some of the best platforms with the same features that made chat rooms great (with added functionality for the modern era.)
Discord
Discord is the best platform to make new friends that share common interests. Although Discord started as a place for gamers, it’s evolved to include all sorts of interest groups. Users can join ‘servers’ (rooms) about finance, gaming, arts, language, anime, and much more.
Discord is designed for real-time chat, just as the legacy chat rooms were, but it comes with new moderation tools.
Server owners can deploy a moderation bot such as MEE6 to automatically delete messages with inappropriate language (so a real person doesn’t have to actively moderate). Automatic moderation ensures a safe, productive conversation for everyone.
Users can set different nicknames for each server, protecting their privacy across chat groups. Discord also leverages video so server admins can create rooms for members to watch videos, play games, or chat.
Discord servers are highly customizable. Many bots help owners schedule events, track users, incorporate games, and promote their businesses. Customization options keep the server engaging, safe, and on topic.
Discord offers 100% free chat for video and text chat options. Users can upgrade to Nitro for bonuses (bigger uploads, more emojis, etc.), but the essential chat functions are always free.
Telegram
Telegram is a messaging app that seamlessly syncs across devices and allows users to share photos and videos easily. Users can add contacts from their phone and social media accounts or create and join private groups to chat with strangers.
There are groups about nearly anything. Each group can hold up to 200,000 members, making it easy to chat with others who share your interest.
The Telegram group feature functions more like a social media chatroom than a traditional chat room, with group owners able to restrict who can and can’t post or comment. Some groups only post information and don’t allow any commenting, while others enable active engagement.
Finding groups on Telegram isn’t very user-friendly. It can be hard to identify groups if you don’t have an invite link.
Social Media
Social Media made chat rooms obsolete. With Facebook and Twitter, people could suddenly interact worldwide in a more public way. These platforms allowed users to reconnect with long-lost friends and make new friends in various fields.
No popular social media site completely replaces the feel of chat rooms. Users must provide an email or phone number, which prevents complete anonymity, a key trait of many early chat rooms. Additionally, the conversation on social media isn’t real-time, which helps people stay connected even when they aren’t engaged but limits the “real conversation” feel.
Most social media platforms offer private messaging capabilities. These messages allow users to interact with each other on a more personal level and, because they are private, are often ripe with abuse. Many platforms restrict the ability to send direct messages to avoid this type of abuse.
Web Forums
Web forums are great places to interact with strangers over time. While chat room conversations are real-time, web forums move more gradually.
The biggest web forum on the internet is Reddit . There is an area on this website for nearly every interest. With so many people active on the site every day, it can seem like conversations are happening instantaneously.
There are thousands of smaller forums across the internet for various niches. Deviant art is a forum where artists share their drawings and comment on artworks . Moms who want to connect and share stories about motherhood can visit Mothering . Whatever your interest, there is a web herpes dating site forum for it.
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