Reddit to Introduce Chat Room Feature!
Mike Sanders / 5 years ago
I had thought that the days of internet chat rooms were long dead. It has, after all, been nearly 10-years now since media hysteria caused many companies to move away from them due to fears of grooming or other inappropriate activities. Whether those were legitimate concerns is a matter of option, but there are few mainstream chat rooms still operating today!
In a report via The Verge, however, it seems that Reddit may be looking to revive the lost art of chatting randomly online with strangers!
Reddit Revives Chat Rooms!
The “Start Chatting” feature is set to be introduced this week and initially will be made available across 16,000 of their most popular subreddit groups. This is, however, presuming that the group’s administration enables the function.
From selecting this option, however, users will be placed into small groups (of around 7 people) with similar interests based on the subreddit theme. For example, if this was introduced on the r/Hardware channel, you’d be chatting with people with an interest in PC technology.
What Do We Think?
I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting this. It has, after all, been a very long time now since any mainstream ‘chat room’ (outside of dating websites) operated on the internet and I must admit to feeling a slight tinge of nostalgia for the days of Yahoo chat and AIM.
So, if you want to give it a try, just check out your favorite subreddit groups and keep your eyes open for the “Start Chatting” button. If it’s a big group and it’s not there now, it will likely be before the end of the week!
What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!