We can never be able to separate Internet and university. In fact, the Internet and its technology was developed in campus. One of the most significant technology in campus life is HTML chat room. For those who went to university in the early and mid 1990’s, we would still remember the Internet Relay Chat or IRC, which then followed by ICQ created by Mirabilis quintet: Yair Goldfinger, Arik and Yossi Vardi, Sefi Vigiser, Amnon Amir.

If we look back further, to the first day of Internet at its birth during the ARPANET era in 1970’s, we found the initial technology was created in campus. The very first e-learning system called PLATO, an acronym for Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operation, was equipped with live chatroom system called Talkomatic. The e-learning system was developed in University of Illinois to provide a graphical computerized learning system in the campus of University of Illinois. Although designed to be instructional learning system, due to its complete communication system in its operation, it is said that the system was creating new wave of online community. Talkomatic chat room was one of the wide array of communication system in PLATO beside bulletin boards, forum, instant messaging, screen sharing and personal notes.

One of the messaging apps for iPhone created by Ray Ozzie, former Microsoft software architect was named after chat system. Ozzie was a graduated from University of Illinois, and during his tenure in campus, he worked a lot with the system and its communication system. Ozzie is famous as the creator of Lotus Notes messaging system, inspired by University of Illinois messaging system. He was also known as Microsoft legend who was responsible for design and architect of  Microsoft software after Bill Gates era.

The Very Beginning of html chat room

Let us go back to the early live chat room started in university campus. Please remember, during that era the 1970’s, laptop or desktop computer had not been invented. All computers were UNIX mainframes, and users access the program using terminal accessing the mainframe.

However, University of Illinois was able to create a breakthrough with its e-learning system, surpassing all technology limitation. Its graphical instructional for instructional learning was enormous for that era. Not to mention its games that inspired current game like Microsoft Flight Simulator and current multi user game was first initiated in the system.

During conversation, character was broadcasted by one character after another as soon as user typed in. This was fascinating because users could see when a character was deleted or a typo error was corrected. A very different approach than common html chat room today, which transmit the message as a user indicating the message is finished by pressing enter of by clicking the “SEND” button.

Live Html Chat room in University Event

A Live event was never far from Html chat room. University students who were known for their idealism and romanticism very often utilized the chatroom to spread their ideas. One of the recent was in September 2014 Hong Kong student protest.

The Hong Kong student protest began when People Republic of China’s government introduced electoral reform for Hong Kong. Although Hong Kong was part of People Republic of China, but it has its own administrative rights since its hand-over to China from England in 1997. The electoral reform was designed to improve its democratic process.

However, students consider the electoral reform platform was still too conservative and restrictive. Hongkong Federation of Student or HKFS, students union group from 7 universities in Hong Kong, protested the platform and demanded more progressive and less restrictive regulations. They initiated the class boycott involving student in 24 universities in Hong Kong. The boycott later supported by high school students as well, from hundreds of schools. The small event started as class boycott then expanded into massive protests in Hongkong in 2014.

Chatroom has been an effective media to promote such live event, yet in the repressive and dictatorship country like Iran. During 2011 student protest, Iranian repressive government had blocked all media access to the event, including Internet. Nevertheless, chatroom along with social media provided worldwide reporters current situation in that nationwide protest, continuing the 2009 rigged presidential election.

Previously, at the event of 10th year anniversary of 1989 Tiananment Square protest, Chinese government closed down Internet chatroom across the country to prevent the spread of anti goverment ideas through html chat room

Live Chat room in Intentional Events

In the International event, live html chat room had also taken place as communication media.
During a failed coup d’état by several KGB leaders in 1991 who tried to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev from presidency there was a media blackout. Nobody in the world knew what happened in the country. As an alternative media Internet Relay Chat or IRC was used as broadcast media to the whole world.

Earlier, chatroom also played important role a communication media during the first Gulf War. Chat logs from those two events can be viewed in the Internet library site: www.ibiblio.org.
We have seen how chatroom has become a very important role in university live event. Events that began in university were able to take bigger stage and change the world because of chatroom. So, for that reason we will always need html chat room, and it will always be here for us.

Get one for your own html chat website.