Paltalk is an internet chat service for text, voice and video chatting. The Paltalk Messenger program is in a free, banner-supported format as well as an ad-free version that requires users to subscribe. Paltalk is only available to users of Microsoft Windows. Image File history File links Paltalklogo. ... Software development is the translation of a user need or marketing goal into a software product. ... A software release is the distribution, whether public or private, of an initial or new and upgraded version of a computer software product. ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... // An operating system (OS) is the software that manages the sharing of the resources of a computer. ... Windows XP is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. ... Windows Vista is a line of graphical operating systems used on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, Tablet PCs, and media centers. ... A software license is a legal agreement which may take the form of a proprietary or gratuitous license as well as a memorandum of contract between a producer and a user of computer software. ... It has been suggested that closed source be merged into this article or section. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Chat room. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The company itself is a privately held New York based company founded in 1998. Paltalk claims 4 million users worldwide,^[1] making it the largest voice and video chat community on the World Wide Web.^[2] It also owns and operates HearMe, a video and voice-enabled web conferencing service that allows users to conduct group meetings.^[3]. Paltalk became popular after Firetalk, an earlier voice/music chat program, became unable to maintain operation due to a lack of adequate funding. Firetalk was an innovative voice/music chat program, allowing users to talk to others singly or in chatrooms. ...

Features

The service provides access to several thousand video-enabled chat rooms in which users can interact one-on-one or with large groups of people simultaneously. Additionally, Paltalk doubles as a conventional instant messaging service, allowing users to interact via Yahoo!, ICQ, and AIM/AOL messengers with a single buddy list. A chat room is an online forum where people can chat online (talk by broadcasting messages to people on the same forum in real time). ... “Yahoo” redirects here. ... ICQ is an instant messaging computer program, owned by Time Warners AOL subsidiary. ... AIM is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below: AOL Instant Messenger A I M Management Group Inc. ... For other uses, see AOL (disambiguation). ...

Paltalk users can find and meet each other via Paltalk People, a social networking site. The site allows users to create and post their own personalized profile displaying photos and listing hobbies, interests etc. Users can then browse or search the database for keywords and view any profile that matches their query. A social network is a map of the relationships between individuals, indicating the ways in which they are connected through various social familiarities ranging from casual acquaintance to close familial bonds. ...

Categorized chat rooms are also offered, with the most popular being finance, religion, distance learning, politics, culture and music chat rooms where people play and/or sing songs. The chat rooms have a queue system which allows users to "raise their hand" and wait in line for their turn. Users have the ability to create and moderate their own chat rooms, however Paltalk employs more than 650 trained administrators^{[citation needed]} to ensure that discussions are appropriate and do not violate Paltalk terms of service. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Distance Learning is learning carried out apart from the usual classroom setting; in an asynchronous setting. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. ... For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ...

Media coverage

Paltalk has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, The Dallas Morning News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Post, the British Broadcasting Corporation and CNET among others^{[citation needed]}. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is an international daily newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company in New York City, New York, USA, with Asian and European editions, and a worldwide daily circulation of more than 2 million as of 2006, with 931,000 paying online subscribers. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area. ... The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the only major daily newspaper in Atlanta and its suburbs. ... The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company. ... The Philadelphia Inquirer is one of a two Knight Ridder newspaper duopoly daily for the Philadelphia area. ... The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and the oldest to have been published continually as a daily. ... This article is an overview article about the Crown chartered British Broadcasting Corporation formed in 1927. ... CNET Networks, Inc. ...

As well as coverage by mainstream media, the service is used by the Opie and Anthony radio show. The show have cameras set up in the studio and often talk about it on the show.^[4] The company has also received publicity for hosting live chats with numerous celebrities and politicians including Reverend Jesse Jackson, Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky hosted by The People Speak Radio Show, Dan Burstein, and family therapist Kim West a.k.a. “the Sleep Lady”. Opie (Gregg Hughes, b. ... Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. ... Howard Zinn (born August 24, 1922) is an American historian, political scientist, social critic, activist and playwright, best known as author of the bestseller, A Peoples History of the United States. ... Avram Noam Chomsky (Hebrew :אברם נועם חומסקי Yiddish: אברם נועם כאמסקי) (born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, political activist, author, and lecturer. ...

Suicide

The company came under fire from the British press in 2007, after a Shropshire man was urged by users to commit suicide live on his webcam. Kevin Whitrick, 42, from Wellington, Shropshire, was in an insult chat room with up to 60 other users, only one of which called the police after witnessing the hanging. Internet user Carol Vickers called the police after watching Mr Whitrick hang himself with an electrical cord, the others believing that Mr Whitrick was "playing a prank". Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Shropshire (pronounced /, -/), alternatively known as Salop[6] or abbreviated Shrops[7], is a county in the West Midlands of England. ... Kevin Whitrick (1964-08-17 – 2007-03-21) was a British citizen and an electrical engineer. ... Wellington is a suburb of the new town of Telford in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. ...

Mr Whitrick's suicide is believed to be the UK's first suicide transmitted live to an audience. His ex-wife said he had been in a serious car crash in July 2006 and had never fully recovered.

The coroner called for the banning of "insult chatrooms". An insult chatroom is one which is defined as an insult chatroom. Participants expect to be insulted and insult others within the room.^[5]

Service Levels

Paltalk users have the options to subscribe to different service levels as under:

• 1. Black Nicks: Free service of Paltalk having the ability to use the program for audio chat, publishing videos, transferring files, adding up to 199 users in Pal List. Users with black nicks have banner ads supporting Paltalk (meaning by they will see ad banners in all chat Rooms/ Instant Messaging (IM) Windows.Ability to join 3 voice rooms simultaneously.
• 2. Blue Nicks: Paid service called Paltalk Plus that gives the users the ability of audio chat, publishing videos, view streaming videos up to 6 cams simultaneously at up to 5fps stream rate, transferring files, ability to join 3 voice rooms simultaneously, adding up to 499 members in Pal List. Users with Blue Nicks have the option to enable/ disable banner ads on the program.
• 3. Green Nicks: Paid service named Patalk x-treme to provide an opportunity to such members of audio chat, publishing videos, view as many cams as they may like with a stream rate up to 15fps, transferring files, adding up to 999 members in Pal List. Members with x-treme subscriptions can join up to 3 voice rooms simultaneously and have the option to enable/ disable banner ads.
• 4. Purple Nicks: At the time that PalTalk version 9 was introduced, certain Paltalk Extreme members were given the opportunity to become "PalTalk VIPs". Members who accepted this change had their nicknames change to purple, however aside from this there are no other obvious benefits or responsibilities associated with the new status. The criteria for being asked to become a VIP are unknown, although the criterion for keeping a purple nick once assigned is that the account must be kept paid up.

Moderation/ Administration

The Paltalk Administration consists of tiers each having his/her own level of powers within the program. All Paltalk volunteers/employees have red nicknames. They are listed below according to rank, from lowest to highest.

• XXXXX(host)- not an official employee, but a volunteer generally chosen to assist users, mainly in the International Help Lobbies of PalTalk (other languages, from Arabic to Dutch, Turkish, Vietnamese, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Hungarian, Urdu and others).
• XXXXX(palhost)- not an official employee, but a volunteer generally chosen to assist users.
• XXXXX(palhelp)- not an official employee, but a volunteer generally chosen to assist users.
• XXXXX(palsupport)- a volunteer as well, though with slightly more prestige than the afore mentioned due to the fact that the word 'support' indicates an affiliation with PalTalk, and because they possess the ability to lie in 'stealth' mode within public rooms. They are qualified to assist users or to summarize the problem and then refer that user to a higher up for assistance.
• XXXXX(paltech)- considered a step up from being a palsupport agent. These volunteers have been promoted due to their technical knowledge/experience of and with the PalTalk program.
• XXXXX(co-admin) - These people are representatives of the PaltalkAdmins and have many of the same powers as the Admins mentioned above. PaltalkAdmins are not contacted directly by users.
• XXXXX(paltalk) - Paltalk staff
• XXXXX(pal-editor) - Paltalk staff who are in charge of the categories and rooms.
• PaltalkAdminX - These people have their nickname in the format PaltalkAdminX where X is some letter that distinguished one person from another. These are Paltalk employees. Among other things, they can rename groups, change a groups rating, close down a group entirely, change a users nickname, restrict a users functionality and more.

See also

• Instant messaging
• Comparison of instant messaging clients

Instant messaging (IM) is a form of real-time communication between two or more people based on typed text. ... The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of instant messaging clients. ...

References