We have several ways to participate in the Public Lab chatroom; the easiest is listed first. For other methods, scroll down!

Basic chatroom

Get started quick, no installation needed! Real name is optional:

(Open this in new window: https://chat.publiclab.org)

We've bridged together a number of different chatroom systems, so you can use one you're comfortable with. (If you care, Public Lab's chatroom is run on IRC,on OFTC in the room #publiclab).

Riot.im/Matrix

We also use the Riot.im service, which is a bit more fully-featured than IRC, also in the room #publiclab:

https://riot.im/app/#/room/#publiclab:matrix.org

Because this is where we "connect" all the chatrooms together, it tends to be the smoothest experience with the most features.

It includes file upload, voice chat, and notifications. This is connected to the IRC channel as well, so it's basically all the same chatroom. Riot also offers several clients for iOS and Android devices: https://riot.im

Gitter

Some folks participating via GitHub use Gitter.im, and we've also bridged that with the other chatrooms:

https://gitter.im/publiclab/publiclab

Adium

To use IRC in Adium on a Mac, follow these steps:

Opening the #publiclab channel in Adium (Mac):

Add the account:

Join the #publiclab channel: