ONLINE-INTERACTIONS

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CHATROOMS

#FRIENDS_CAFE (as the specific name of the chatroom), were first started back in late 1995 by Paul Didzerekis and a friend because of the need for more good clean channels on the internet. As it was described in their site, #FRIENDS_CAFE is a great place for friendly people to hangout and meet other friendly people. The chatroom is open for 24 hours, where people could chat with each other. #FRIENDS_CAFE started as a web-based chatroom and now it's a full-blown chat server. It was mentioned that "the topic of conversation is never the same but it is always welcome fun and interesting."

APPEAL'S CHATROOM

This chatroom is a non commercial, non profit family chatroom which uses the common "telnet" application found on many platforms. There are two levels that you have to follow, when you login you will be in level 1, where user has very few restrictions. Level 2, gives you more possibilities but you have to be promoted and they have to find you worthy of it. After you login, you will get a list of current users of the chatrooms, their level, name, what room they are in and a possible userinfo. I didn't join the chatroom because I wasn't ready at that time, but if I go and check it again and find something interesting to talk about, I might just join.

COOL CHAT

Here's another chatroom where people meet online to chat. I couldn't connect the night I decided to check their site, but I have seen the site and it looked pretty interesting. So, just click on the "COOL CHAT" to see their website and join in their chatrooms.

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GAME ROOMS

EXCITE ONLINE GAMES

This site contains games that I know guys will surely like to play, but you have to purchase the game. They have games that include Quake II, Hercules, Dragon Realms, and many more to choose from. They also have a link that game lovers can go and chat. This is surely the site that my boyfriend will surely love to visit. The site also includes Games Chat, Computer Game News, Books on Internet Games, and many more to choose from.

YAHOO GAMEROOMS

I joined this gameroom to play backgammon, but I couldn't find a player that I could play with because everybody was already playing with someone. This is the site for you if you like to play board games or card games online. The site also includes action games, strategy games, sports games, and adventure games so I believe this is the site for everybody who likes to play different types of online games. The Yahoo gameroom also has NetEvents and Yahoo game chats.

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CYBER/INTERNET CAFES

CYBERIA CAFE

Cyberia Cafe was set up in 1994 as the UK's first Internet Cafe, which provides Internet access to the public. It was mentioned in their site that Cyberia's Cafes and franchises is spread through the UK, Europe, and into the East Asia. Cyberia corporate services has taken their Internet expertise into the workplace in 1995. Eversince then, they have been "offering corporate training, Internet consultancy, events, and corporate hospitality" other than just cappuccinos and coffees.

CYBERSMITH

Cybersmith offers one part virtual reality and two parts web surfing. Virtual Reality, they said is the most intriguing new technology, that even in theaters now like Wallace for example, has them for people to play while waiting for the movie to start. Internet Cafes now offer Virtual Reality because they're very entertaining. Cybersmith not only offers Virtual Reality and Web Surfing, it's also a place where people meet, chat, and drink their favorite hot beverages. There are four locations where you can visit Cybersmith: Harvard Square, White Plains, Palo Alto, and soon, Newbury Street.

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ONLINE FORUMS

EPICURIOUS FORUM

This forum site is for you if you like to cook, eat, or talk about food. The people that visit this site mostly talk about food and exchange recipes with other members of this forum. EpiCurious also offers wine tips, restaurant and booknotes, as well as practical kitchen tips. It also talks Travel's Search if you don't know exactly where you're going. I would like to join this forum because I'm very interested in Chinese and Italian recipes, so I might just join it some time when I have the time.

TEACHER TALK FORUM

Teacher Talk is considered to be the mighty media teachers lounge where educators come together and share ideas with one another. This Forum is one of the best educational services on the Web with more than 13,000 registered users. It's also mentioned in the site that "it has won countless awards and has been featured in many educational publications" over the past two years. You have to register by simply putting a username and password to become a member of this forum.

NATURE FORUMS

The Nature Forums function in a way similar to the Usenet newsgroups, where users can post questions or topics of discussion, and others can respond. They give you tips prior to using the forums so you will not get lost and know what you can and cannot talk about. For sure, advertising is not allowed and messages containing advertisement will be deleted. If you're a Nature-lover, this is the site for you because they talk mainly about things that have to do with nature. I like this site because I love nature and I believe that I will enjoy reading the messages and maybe I'll post a message myself.

TRAVEL FORUMS

The Travel Forums is one of my favorite forums that I like to visit because it "provides a place for travelers to share their experiences." It includes forums that are intended for the discussion of topics related to computers, the Internet and the Web. It was mentioned in this site that this is the place to ask questions about why your computer isn't working. This site includes Computer Help Forum and Web Authoring Forum, as well as Garden Web Forums that comprise the largest community of gardeners on the Net.

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ONLINE CLUBS

THE DOG ZONE'S CLUB PAGES

In the Dog Zone's Club Pages, you will find different sites of dog clubs that you could ever think of. You can also add your own club if you have one, as long as it's about dogs. You have to give the club's name and the breed of the dog that's of interest to your club. Of course, you have to check first if they already have a club for your dog's breed before you add your own club.

CAR-CLUBS OF THE WORLD

If you love cars, whether it be a classic car or a sports car, this is the club for you to join because they have a bunch of links to different car clubs from all over the world. It's a guarantee that you will find the car that you like in this site. There's a Table of Contents that consist the names of the Car-Clubs you might be looking for. So go ahead and click on the name to visit the CAR-CLUBS OF THE WORLD.

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MY COMMENTS

We all know that there are so many ways on how people meet online and offline. I have observed that more people are becoming active in chat rooms, game rooms, and forums online more than we can imagine. The very main reason I could imagine why people meet in sites like chatrooms and game rooms is because they all have something in common. People usually get together because of their similar lifestyles. Online, it's probably a little difficult to tell because you only know these people you meet through whatever they tell you about themselves. You don't exactly see them doing these activities, as opposed to when you meet them in clubs, bars, and internet cafes.
I haven't really joined any chatrooms yet, but I was lurking one time in one of the sites and I noticed that people do have something in common. There are so many categories of chatroom like the ones I included in this report. I guess, people will only choose the chatroom that they can belong to or else they wouldn't feel comfortable talking about something they don't know much about. In most chatrooms, they usually talk about things that are more personal in nature. The name itself tells you already that you will be "chatting" with people as if you're with your friends talking about things that doesn't really make sense sometimes. People seem to enjoy themselves when they're talking to someone on the net. I guess, it relieves them from some of the stress in life and that's one thing they get out of it.
In game rooms, I noticed that most guys are in it. I should know because my boyfriend is part of this clan, as they call it. They usually play games like quake, doom, and many more. I must say, most of these games are very violent in nature. When he plays, I usually can't stand it because it's so graphic but he, on the other hand, seems to really enjoys himself when he's in that site. I really think that these game rooms help him forget his worries and problems in life.
To me, internet chatrooms and game rooms are harmless because there's really no physical contact. Unlike in bars, clubs, or places where people meet, you easily can get into fights or if you're too drunk and you don't know what you're doing, someone can easily take advantage of you (especially females). Physical contact is nice but a lot of sexual diseases can be transmitted if you're not too careful.