yes, you can go 'thru' AOL to chat with others in various chat rooms...but you ALWAYS have AOL's border surrounding you...and you are at the mercy of their browser, which is a thinly disguised Internet Explorer, and their availability, which is often spotty...I would NEVER use AOL unless I lived in the sticks where there was no other choice...they are slow, expensive,don't allow you very many newsgroups, hassle you with ads, and filter what they want you to see...almost everything on the NET except their inbred little chat groups (which are usually full) is available somewhere else.

And electra is right...ICQ & IRC are great ways to meet and chat...singly , or in groups..(as is POWWOW). ICQ and POWWOW are similar...IRC is different, and a 'bit' trickier...ICQ & IRC actually allow you to see others as they type...backspaces, partial thoughts & all....IRC has a lot of chatrooms, plus the ability to define your own... and 2 years ago, I knew NOTHING about any of this...

for those who are 'power users', you can even have sound and cameras as you chat...I guess we could easily sing these songs to each other and demonstrate guitar chords, if we all had fast enough machines and had the need...just wait 10 years!!Online Hootenannies!!