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For Readers of Poor Richard's Building Online Communities
If you manage an online community, you can take advantage of the many Web sites and communities dedicated to community managers! It makes sense that community managers would use the Internet--and online community in particular--for information and support.
This page has updated addresses for resources that have moved since the book was published.
Resources for All Types of Online Community Managers
This section lists Web sites, mailing lists, newsgroups, and books that are useful for online community managers--regardless of how and where your community is hosted.
Web Sites about Creating and Managing Online Communities
Big Bang Workshops: Virtual Communities--Getting Together on the Net
http://www.bigbangworkshops.com/html/research.html
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA)
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/9910/childfinal.htm
Community Manager Network
http://www.communitymanager.net/
Facilitips: Quick Tips for Online Facilitation
http://www.fullcirc.com/community/facilitips.htm
Full Circle Associates (links and articles)
http://www.fullcirc.com/
The Jargon File (for definitions of online terms)
http://www.jargon.org/html/The-Jargon-Lexicon-framed.html
The Mailing List Gurus (introduction to mailing lists and list management, by the authors of this book)
http://lists.gurus.com/
Membership Agreements
http://www.ivanhoffman.com/membership.html
The Natural Life Cycle of Mailing Lists, by Kat Nagel
http://www.catalog.com/vivian/lifecycle.html
Netiquette Guidelines (RFC 1855)
http://sunsite.cnlab-switch.ch/ftp/doc/standard/rfc/18xx/1855
Next Generation Research Group: Web Resources on On-Line Communities
http://www.ngrg.com/olclinks.html
Online Community Report (a bimonthly newsletter)
http://onlinecommunityreport.com/
Online Community Toolkit (articles about creating and maintaining communities)
http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitymanual.htm
The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier (the complete text of Howard Rheingold's classic book)
http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/
The WELL's Host's Manual
http://www.well.com/confteam/hostmanual/section2.html
Online Community Directories
Deja.com's Usenet Discussion Service (search engine for Usenet newsgroups)
Deja.com was acquired by Google, and it is now at
http://groups.google.com/
DoList.net (searchable database of mailing lists and newsgroups, in either English or French)
http://www.dolist.net/annuaire_en.asp
ForumOne Index (searchable index of Web-based message boards)
http://www.forumone.com/
The List of Lists (searchable index of mailing lists)
http://catalog.com/vivian/interest-group-search.html
ListTool.com (directory of LISTSERV, ListProc, and Majordomo mailing lists)
http://www.listtool.com/
Liszt: The Mailing List Directory (searchable index of mailing lists and newsgroups)
http://www.liszt.com/
Liszt's IRC Chat Directory
http://www.liszt.com/chat/
Meta-List
http://www.meta-list.net/
PAML (Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists)
http://paml.alastra.com/
RemarQ
Has been acquired by Critical Path (http://www.cp.com/). They no longer offer a searchable directory of mailing list and newsgroup messages, but direct you to http://www.supernews.com/.
The SparkLIST Email Newsletter & Discussion Lists Directory
http://sparklist.net/
TILE.NET/LISTS: The Reference to Internet Discussion and Information Lists (newsgroups, too)
http://tile.net/lists/
Topica (mailing list host and search engine)
http://www.topica.com/
WebScout Lists
http://www.webscoutlists.com/
Mailing Lists for Community Managers
Group Facilitation (GRP-FACL) (about facilitation all types of groups, not just online)
Send "subscribe GRP-FACL yourname" to listserv@listserv.albany.edu
Online Facilitation
Send blank message to Onlinefacilitation-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/onlinefacilitation (note move from eGroups)
Books for Community Managers
Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities, by Amy Jo Kim, published by Peachpit Press early in 2000. Planning and management ideas for managing communities. ISBN 0-201-87484-9.
Cyberville: Clicks, Culture, and the Creation of an Online Town, by Stacy Horn, published by Warner Books in 1998. The story of one online community. ISBN 0-446-51909-X.
Hosting Web Communities: Building Relationships, Increasing Customer Loyalty and Maintaining a Competitive Edge, by Cliff Figallo, published by Wiley Computer Publishing in 1998. Creating and running communities on the Web. ISBN 0-471-28293-6.
My Tiny Life: Crime and Passion in a Virtual World, by Julian Dibbell, published by Owl Books in 1998. A journalist's accounts of his adventures in a MOO. ISBN 0-8050-3626-1.
The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier, by Howard Rheingold, first published by HarperPerennial in 1994. A history of The WELL, one of the first online communities, as well as early MUDs and other multiuser communities. An updated edition was published by MIT Press in late 2000. ISBN 0-06-0976411 (1994 ed.); 0-262-681218 (new ed.).
Resources for Mailing List Managers
The authors of this book maintain a Web site with articles about mailing list management and links to other mailing list management resources--the Mailing List Gurus page, at http://lists.gurus.com/. We know of one good book about managing lists: Managing Mailing Lists, by Alan Schwartz, published by O'Reilly & Associates in 1998 (ISBN 1-56592-259-X).
Hosts For Mailing Lists
Brian Edmond's Internet Mailing List Providers List
http://www.gweep.bc.ca/~edmonds/usenet/ml-providers.html
eGroups
Has been acquired by Yahoo - see Yahoo Groups.
List-Business .com's List-Hosting Service Providers
http://list-business.com/list-service-providers/
ListBot (owned by Microsoft)
http://www.listbot.com/
Theglobe.com
http://www.theglobe.com/
Topica
http://www.topica.com/
Quicktopic.com
http://www.quicktopic.com/
Vivian Neou's Internet Mailing List Providers List
http://www.catalog.com/vivian/mailing-list-providers.html
Yahoo Groups
http://groups.yahoo.com/
Includes eGroups, which it acquired.
Web Sites that Archive Mailing Lists
eScribe (also provides Web page hosting and chat rooms for mailing lists)
http://www.escribe.com/
Geocrawler
http://www.geocrawler.com/
List-Business.com List Archivers Directory
http://list-business.com/list-archivers/
ListQuest
http://www.listquest.com/
The Mail Archive (anyone can add a list, without permission of the list manager, and subscribers' e-mail addresses are displayed)
http://www.mail-archive.com/
RemarQ
Has been acquired by Critical Path (http://www.cp.com/). They no longer offer a searchable directory of mailing list and newsgroup messages, but direct you to http://www.supernews.com/.
Web Sites about List Server Programs
LetterRip Pro
http://www.fogcity.com/letterrip.html
ListProc
http://www.cren.net/
http://www.cren.net/listproc/docs/ (the list manager' manual)
http://www.cren.net/listproc/docs/ (the list manager' manual)
LISTSERV
http://www.lsoft.com/
http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8d/owner/owner.html (the list manager manual)
http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8d/owner/owner.html (the list manager manual)
Lyris
http://www.lyris.com/
http://www.lyris.com/help/ListAdministrator.html (the list manager manual)
http://www.lyris.com/help/ListAdministrator.html (the list manager manual)
The Mailing List Gurus Page: Mailing List Management Programs
http://lists.gurus.com/mlms.html
MailMan (the open source mailing list management program)
http://www.list.org/
Majordomo
http://www.greatcircle.com/majordomo/
http://www.visi.com/~barr/majordomo-faq.html (a FAQ)
http://www-uclink.berkeley.edu/major/major.admin.html (an excellent manual)
Web Sites about Mailing Lists
The Mailing List Gurus Page
http://lists.gurus.com/
List-Universe.com (more about e-zines than discussion lists)
http://List-Universe.com/
Online Communities for Mailing List Managers
Cren-listproc (for ListProc Managers)
Send "subscribe cren-listproc" to listproc@list.cren.net
Egroups-discuss-managers (discussion for mailing list managers at eGroups, now Yahoo Groups)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/egroups-discuss-managers
List-Advertising.com (discussion about how to advertise your mailing list)
Send blank message to join-list-advertising@list-advertising.com
http://list-advertising.com/
Listhelp (general tips for running a mailing-list-based e-zine)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ListHelp
List-Moderators (discussion of list management on all list servers)
Send blank message to join-list-moderators@list-moderators.com or (for the digest) to join-list-moderators-digest@list-moderators.com
http://list-moderators.com/
List-Tips (general tips for running e-zines)
Send blank message to join-list-tips@sparklist.com
http://list-tips.com/
LSTOWN-L (for LISTSERV Managers)
Send "subscribe lstown-L yourname" to listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com
Lyris-announce and lyris-discuss (for Lyris managers)
http://www.lyris.com/lists.html
MailMan-Users (for MailMan managers)
http://www.python.org/mailman/listinfo/mailman-users
Majordomo-users (for Majordomo managers, despite its name)
Send "subscribe Majordomo-Users" to majordomo@GreatCircle.com
Resources for Newsgroup Moderators and News Administrators
Many FAQs about creating and managing newsgroups are available on the Web. This section lists Web sites, mailing lists, and newsgroups of use to newsgroup moderators and news administrators.
Web Sites about Creating Big Eight Newsgroups
The Big Eight Newsgroup Creation Process
http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/big-eight.html
Guidelines on Usenet Newsgroup Names
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/creating-newsgroups/naming/part1/
Guides for Creating Newsgroups
http://homepages.go.com/~eacalame/create.html
How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup: Guidelines for Usenet News Creation
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/creating-newsgroups/part1/
How to Create Newsgroups: How to Format and Submit a New Group Proposal
http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/usenet/newgroup/how-submit.faq
How to Write a Good Newsgroup Proposal
http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/usenet/newgroup/good-proposal.faq
User's Guide to the Changing Usenet
http://cil-www.oce.orst.edu:8080/users.guide html
Usenet Newsgroup Creation Companion (this may be outdated)
http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/usenet/newgroup/creation-companion.faq
Web Sites about alt Newsgroups
The Beginners Guide to Creating New alt.* Groups
http://usenet.cjb.net/
Guide for Writing an Alt Newsgroup Proposal
http://homepages.go.com/~eacalame/proposal.html
How to Create an Alt Newsgroup
http://nylon.net/alt/newgroup.htm
How to Name a Newsgroup
http://www.faqs.org/usenet/alt/naming.html
How to Justify a New Newsgroup
http://www.faqs.org/usenet/alt/justify.html
How to Write a Good Newgroup Message
http://www.gweep.bc.ca/~edmonds/usenet/good-newgroup.html
Index of FAQs About Starting an "alt" Newsgroup
http://www.faqs.org/usenet/alt/
So You Want to Create an Alt Newsgroup
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/alt-creation-guide/
http://www.visi.com/~barr/alt-creation-guide.html
Web Sites about Other Newsgroup Hierarchies
aus: aus.* Newsgroup Administration
http://aus.news-admin.org/
be: Hoe een BE-nieuwsgroep oprichten? (How to Set Up a BE Newsgroup; in Dutch)
http://users.pandora.be/tdv/be/
biz: Biz.* Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
ftp://ftp.xenitec.on.ca/pub/news/faqs/biz.faq
ch: The ch.* (Swiss Newsgroups)
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/ch-general/intro-french/ (in French)
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/ch-general/intro-german/ (in German)
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/ch-general/intro-italian/ (in Italian)
de: Regeln für die Einrichtung und Entfernung von Usenet-Gruppen (Rules for the Establishment and Removal of Usenet Groups; in German)
http://www.kirchwitz.de/~amk/dai/einrichtung
es: Moderación de la Jerarquía es.* (Moderation of the es.* Hierarchy; in Spanish)
http://www.rediris.es/netnews/moderacion/docs/
fr: Les Groupes USENET fr.* (The fr.* Usenet Newsgroups; in French)
http://www.fr.net/news-fr/
it: I gruppi Usenet it.* - istruzioni per l'uso (The it.* Usenet Groups: Instructions for Use; in Italian)
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/Italia-news-faq/
nl: Richtlijnen voor het aanmaken van een newsgroup in de nl-hierarchie (Guidelines for the Creation of a Newsgroup in the nl Hierarchy; in Dutch)
http://www.xs4all.nl/~js/usenet/richtlijnen.html
nz: The nz.* Usenet Hierarchy
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/nz-news-hierarchy/
pl: How to Add pl.* Hierarchy to a News Server (FAQ)
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/pl-news-hierarchy/
sfnet: Sfnet-ryhmät (Sfnet Rules; in Finnish)
http://www.cs.tut.fi/sfnet/
uk: UK Usenet Homepages
http://www.usenet.org.uk/
us: Newsgroup Creation in the us.* Hierarchy
http://www.panix.com/~kingdon/us-create.html
Web Sites about Newsreaders and News Servers
DNews (news server for Windows NT)
http://netwinsite.com/dnews.htm
Forté, Inc. (Free Agent)
http://www.forteinc.com/
Frequently Asked Questions about the INN (InterNetNews) NNTP Server
http://blank.org/innfaq/
INN 2.X FAQ
http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/inn.html
INN Home Page (at the Internet Software Consortium)
http://www.isc.org/products/INN/
Internet Explorer Home Page (Outlook Express newsreader, which comes with Internet Explorer)
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/
Netscape Netcenter (Netscape Communication, which includes the Netscape Newsgroup newsreader)
http://home.netscape.com/computing/download/
TUCOWS (other newsreaders)
http://www.tucows.com/ (choose your geographical location and your operating system, and then choose News Readers)
Web Sites that Display Newsgroup Messages
Deja.com's Usenet Discussion Service
Acquired by Google, at http://groups.google.com/
HotBot Usenet
http://hotbot.lycos.com/usenet/
Newsguy
http://www.newsguy.com/
RemarQ
Has been acquired by Critical Path (http://www.cp.com/). They no longer offer a searchable directory of mailing list and newsgroup messages, but direct you to http://www.supernews.com/.
Other Web Sites about Usenet Newsgroups
*.Answers Submission Guidelines
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/faqs/news-answers/guidelines
Address Munging FAQ: Spam-Blocking Your Email Address
http://members.aol.com/emailfaq/mungfaq.html
B.J.'s Hotlists: Usenet (links to useful pages about newsgroups)
http://www.herbison.com/herbison/bj_usenet.html
Breidbart Index Definition (a system for canceling spam)
http://www.stopspam.org/usenet/mmf/breidbart.html
Finding and Writing FAQs
http://www.ii.com/internet/faqs/
Glimpse (a full text-search program usable for newsgroup archives)
http://webglimpse.org/
Hypermail (a program that turns mailboxes full of messages into Web pages)
http://www.hypermail.org/
Internet FAQ Consortium (FAQs from newsgroups)
http://www.faqs.org/
Moderated Newsgroups FAQ: Newsgroup Moderation Methods and Concepts
http://www.swcp.com/~dmckeon/mod-faq.html
PGP Moose (a system for authenticating approval messages for moderated newsgroups)
http://people.qualcomm.com/ggr/pgpmoose.html
Tortoise Home Page (Windows NT news server)
http://tortoise.maxwell.syr.edu/
Usenet Newsgroup FAQs By Hierarchy FTP site
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/
Online Communities for Newsgroup Moderators and News Server Administrators
alt.answers (announcement-only newsgroup with periodic postings of alt newsgroup FAQs)
alt.config (newsgroup for discussing the creation of alt newsgroups)
INN Mailing Lists (hosted at the Internet Software Consortium)
http://www.isc.org/services/public/lists/inn-lists.html
news.admin.hierarchies (newsgroup about Usenet hierarchy configuration)
news.admin.technical (newsgroup about the technical aspects of maintaining Usenet)
news.announce.newgroups (newsgroup with announcements of newly created Big Eight newsgroups)
news.announce.newusers (announcement-only newsgroup with period postings for new Usenet participants)
news.answers (announcement-only newsgroup with periodic postings of most newsgroup FAQs)
news.groups (newsgroup for discussing the creation of new Big Eight newsgroups)
news.newusers.questions (moderated newsgroup for new Usenet user questions and answers)
news.software.nntp (newsgroup about the Usenet news server software)
Resources for IRC Channel Operators
Many IRC networks and channels have Web sites, and many IRC FAQs have advice for channel operators. Here are Web sites about IRC along with online communities for IRC chanops.
Web Sites about IRC and IRC Programs
The alt.irc IFAQ (Inordinately Frequently Asked Questions)
http://www.netway.com/~marci/IFAQ.html
DALnet's ChanServ page
http://www.dal.net/services/chanserv/
DALnet's NickServ page
http://www.dal.net/services/nickserv/
Edge's IRC page
http://www.edge-zone.net/irc/
The Internet Gurus IRC page
http://net.gurus.com/irc/
IRC Operators Guide (for the people who run IRC servers)
http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/ircd/ircopguide.html
IRChelp.org Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Help Archive
http://www.irchelp.org/
mIRC home page (Windows IRC program)
http://www.mirc.com/
NewIRCusers.com
http://www.newircusers.com/
The Official Ircle home page (Mac IRC program)
http://www.ircle.com/
A Short IRC Primer (long)
http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/ircprimer.html
Talk City TC Pirch and TC Ircle (programs for accessing Talk City channels)
http://www.talkcity.com/download/
The Undernet Documents Project
http://www.undernet.org/documents/
Web-based Directories of IRC Channels
EFnet Channel List
http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/chanlist/
IRCnet Channel Search
http://www.ludd.luth.se/irc/list.html
Liszt's IRC Chat Directory
http://www.liszt.com/chat/
Talk City
http://www.talkcity.com/
Undernet Channel Service
http://www.cservice.undernet.org/ (click Search)
Web Sites of IRC Networks
AfterNET
http://www.afternet.org/
AirNet-IRC
http://www.airnet-irc.net/
support@airnet-irc.net (for help)
AlternativeNet
http://www.alternativenet.org/
#Help (help channel)
AnotherNet (family-safe)
http://www.another.net/chat/
help@another.net (for help)
#thecafe (help channel)
Bear Country Net (family oriented)
http://www.bearcountry.net/
#BearDen, #Newbies (help channels)
CastleNet.org
http://www.castlenet.org/
#Camelot (operator help channel)
ChatNet
http://www.chatnet.org/
#Help (general help channel)
#Nuthouse (operator help channel)
CyNet
http://www.cynet.org/
#IRCops (IRC operators' help channel)
DALnet (another large IRC network)
http://www.dal.net/
#DALnetHelp (help channel)
#help (new user help channel)
#HelpCenter (Windows/DOS help channel)
#IRCHelp (help channel)
Damaged.Net
http://www.damaged.net/
DarkerNet (for the gothic, pagan, vampire, and role-playing communities)
http://www.darker.net/
DifferentNET
http://www.different.net/
DS2
http://www.ds2.net/irc.htm
help@ds2.net
Efnet (the original IRC network, Eris Free Network)
http://www.efnet.net/
#irchelp (help channel)
#Twilight_Zone (operators' channel)
Esprit.Net (family oriented)
http://www.esprit.net/
#newbies, #services (help channels)
GalaxyNet
http://www.galaxynet.org/
#IRCHelp (help channel)
#mIRC (help channel for mIRC users)
Infinity IRC
http://www.infinity-irc.org/
#infinity (help channel)
IRC.NET
http://www.irc.net/
support@irc.net
#irchelp (help channel)
#new2irc, #newuser, #newbies, #chatback (new user channels)
#new2mirc, #mirchelp (mIRC help channel)
Kidlink (kids up to age 15 only)
http://www.kidlink.org/
KidsWorld (for kids only)
http://www.kidsworld.org/
KnightNet (medieval theme)
http://www.knightnet.net/
NewNet
http://www.newnet.net/
#NewNetHelp, #Services (help channels)
#ChanOp (help for channel operators)
Phishy Net
http://www.phishy.net/
#PhishPharm (help channel)
ShadowFire
http://www.shadowfire.org/
#shadowfire (help channel)
SorceryNet
http://www.sorcery.net/
#SorceryNet, #help, #irchelp (help channels)
StarChat
http://www.starchat.net/
#StarChat (help channel)
StarLink
http://www.starlink.org/
#oasis (help channel)
#channels (help channel for registering channels)
SysopNet
http://www.sysopnet.org/
Undernet (the first spinoff network)
http://www.undernet.org/
#help (help channel)
#new2irc (help channel)
#newbies (help channel)
#wasteland (help channel)
X World
http://www.xworld.org/
#xworld (help channel)
Xnet
http://www.xnet.org/
#xnet-help (help channel)
ZUH!
http://www.zuh.net/
#help (help channel)
Online Communities for IRC Channel Operators
Each IRC network has one or more channels where channel operators meet to talk. Here are other places to find fellow IRC participants and chanops:
alt.irc (newsgroup for IRC users and channel operators)
alt.irc.dalnet (newsgroup for DALnet users)
alt.irc.undernet (newsgroup for Undernet users)
AnotherNet Mailing List (for AnotherNet users)
Send "subscribe anothernet" to majordomo@another.org
Chatting Online (for users of IRC and other types of chat)
http://chatting.about.com/internet/chatting/
DALnet Mailing Lists
http://www.dal.net/admin/lists.html
General IRC Mailing List
Send "subscribe user-com" to majordomo@undernet.org
Undernet Help Mailing List (for Undernet users)
Send "subscribe help" to majordomo@undernet.org
Undernet Server and Routing mailing list (for Undernet channel operators)
Send "subscribe wastelanders" to majordomo@undernet.org
Resources for Web-based Community Managers
Web-based clubs include message boards, real-time chat, and other ways to share information on fWeb pages. This section lists sites that host clubs, message boards, and real-time chat. If you start an open Web-based community, be sure to list it at Forum One, at http://www.forumone.com/, a searchable index of more than 300,000 Web message boards and Web-based chats.
For sources of message board software you can install on your own Web server, see the section "Installing Your Own Message Board Software," in Chapter 11 of the book. For sources of real-time chat software to install, see the section "Installing Your Own Chat Software" in the same chapter.
Hosts for Web-based Clubs
Most of these Web sites require participants to register with their site before joining your club, and the sites display ads to pay for the free service:
About.com (clubs are hosted by paid About.com contractors)
http://www.about.com/
http://beaguide.about.com/ (how to become the guide of a new About.com site)
http://beaguide.about.com/ (how to become the guide of a new About.com site)
AltaVista Communities
Have closed.
Delphi Forums
http://www.delphi.com/
eCircles.com
http://www.ecircles.com/
eGroups, see Yahoo Groups
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/
EShare Expressions
http://www.eshare.com/products/internet/expressions/
Excite Communities
Have been closed.
FriendFactory
http://www.friendfactory.com/
http://www.friendfactory.co.uk/
JointPlanning.com
http://www.jointplanning.com/
Lycos Clubs
http://clubs.lycos.com/
MSN Web Communities
http://communities.msn.com/home/
MyFamily.com
http://www.myfamily.com/
Snap Clubs
Have been acquired by NBC, and are at http://clubs.nbci.com/.
Talk City's eFriends (hosts clubs that include message boards and real-time chat for as many as 50 people)
http://www.talkcity.com/
Yahoo Clubs
http://clubs.yahoo.com/
Hosts for Message Boards to Add to Your Community
Except where noted, these Web sites let you create a free message board that can appear to be part of your Web site; most of them display ads to pay for their service:
BeSeen
http://www.beseen.com/board/
BoardHost
http://www.boardhost.com/
Casual Forums
http://www.casualforums.com/
EZBoard
http://www.ezboard.com/
Novogate (formerly ForumsGalore)
http://forumsgalore.com/
Theglobe.com (message board is on the site)
http://www.theglobe.com/
Hosts for Real-time Chat to Add to Your Community
These Web sites let you create a free, Java-based, real-time chat page on your own Web site; they display ads to pay for the service:
BeSeen
http://www.beseen.com/chat/
MultiChat
http://www.tectonicdesigns.com/chat/
QuickChat (uses a private IRC server)
http://www.planetz.net/quickchat/
http://www.quickchat.org/
Roger Wilco (free voice walkie-talkie program)
http://www.resounding.com/
XOOM.com (uses ParaChat software)
http://xoom.com/chat/
Commercial Message Board and Real-time Chat Hosts
These companies provide full-service message boards, real-time chat, and other community services to companies and other large organizations:
Caucus Systems
http://www.caucus.com/
HearMe (hosts live voice chat)
http://www.hearme.com/lobbies/
Ichat (part of KOZ.com)
http://www.ichat.com/
iKimbo (requires all community members to install proprietary, free, virally-spread software)
http://www.ikimbo.com/
ParaChat Professional
http://www.parachat.com/parachat.htm
Participate.com
http://www.participate.com/
PeopleLink
http://www.peoplelink.com/
Prospero Technologies (formerly WellEngaged, used by The WELL)
http://www.prosperotechnologies.com/
RemarQ
Has been acquired by Critical Path (http://www.cp.com/).
SureSite Java Chat
http://www.suresite.com/accounts/chat.html
Talk City
http://www.talkcity.com/business_services/home.htm
VCIX Community Management Service (CMS)
http://www.vcix.com/solutions/
Hosts for Web-based 3D Visual Communities
Blaxxun Contact (browser plug-in)
http://www.blaxxun.com/
Palace Visual Chat (Palace client and Palace server programs)
http://www.thepalace.com/
http://www.itsnet.com/home/lminer/palace/ (tutorial)
Online Communities for Web-based Community Managers
Clubs Foundation Room (for managers of Yahoo Clubs)
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/clubsfoundationroom
Delphi Hosts' Forum (for managers of Delphi forums)
http://www.delphi.com/ (go to Hosts' Forum)
Egroups-discuss-managers (discussion for managers at eGroups, now Yahoo Groups)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/egroups-discuss-managers
Excite Community Admins Corner
Has been closed.
The Well Hosts Conference (for managers of The Well conferences)
http://engaged.well.com/engaged/engaged.cgi?c=hosts