# Are there free, web-based private chat systems for organizations?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-free-web-based-private-chat-systems-for-organizations/547270>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 19, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-free-web-based-private-chat-systems-for-organizations/547270 "2010-07-19T20:41:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-free-web-based-private-chat-systems-for-organizations/547270/1 "2010-07-19T20:41:21Z")

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(Posting in GQ as a sister thread to this topic in IMHO: [What are some effective but affordable ways to collaborate in real-time over long distances?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=571428))

Can anyone recommend a good, free web-based chat system that doesn’t require logins?

I’m tired of trying to get things done across 20-person conference calls with join/leave announcements, background noise, speakerphone issues, feedback, etc., etc. and I want to propose that we move to online chat instead, but surprisingly, I couldn’t find many packages (or services) that don’t require a signup process.

All I want is something very simple, very easy to use, where people can go to a webpage, type in a name of their choosing, and be able to join the chat room just like that. Saving the chat history would be a bonus, but not a requirement.

If it matters, we have web hosting capable of running the usual suspects – PHP, MySQL, flat text files, Perl, etc. We’re also ok with a hosted third-party solution if it doesn’t require signups.

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-free-web-based-private-chat-systems-for-organizations/547270/2 "2010-07-19T20:54:31Z")

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Check out my post in IMHO.