Paltalk
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PalTalk is a subscription and banner-supported chat application for voice and video chatting, with more than 4 million registered users and thousands of video chat rooms. Users can subscribe for a fee to get full motion video and audio chat without advertisements. 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. Chat rooms have a queue system which allows users to "raise their hand" and wait in line for their turn. Users can also chat with their buddies from MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ, and AIM/AOL messengers.
PalTalk is used on the Opie and Anthony Radio show. The pair have a camera set up in the studio and often talk about it on the show.
Controversy
PalTalk is criticised for allegedly installing the My Search toolbar from My Way without the users knowledge[link]. They claim it does reveal the information in a License Agreement.PalTalk is also criticised by its user base for not adopting a "hands off" approach to administrating its rooms. Unlike other chat services like Yahoo Chat, the administrators at PalTalk are very involved with mediating what is allowed to be discussed. Things such as advocating military escalation in political discussions are bannable offenses. This is outlined in their Terms of Service as follows:
"Without limiting the foregoing, examples of unacceptable conduct include: (a) threatening, harassing, or intimidating another user, (b) transmitting any unlawful, threatening, abusive, profane, offensive, defamatory, or hateful text or voice communication or Images or other material, or any racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable material, or any material that violates or infringes the intellectual property or privacy or publicity or other rights of any other party; (c) using any obscene or offensive alias; impersonating another user, including, without limitation, a Paltalk employee, administrator or representative; (d) disparaging the Paltalk service, Paltalk or its representatives, administrators or employees or solicitation; (e) posting or transmitting any advertising, promotional materials or other forms of solicitation to other users; (f) permitting language, text or images that are inappropriate to the room you host or abusing your right to take action against participants in your room or (g) disrupting the normal operation of any chat room or otherwise acting in a manner that negatively impacts other users or is inconsistent with the rating of a room or attempting, soliciting or abetting another to do of any of the above."
While item (b) is fairly common in most TOSs, what is unusual is the strict enforcement of the policy with regards to not only objectionable material but also material that can is determined to be offensive, in the judgement of PalTalk. The uniqueness of item (d) is undeterminable, but no analogue in any other popular chat service visibly exists. These factors have combined to lead to allegations of censorship.
See also
External links
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