531:
majority of the protocol for proper communications between the client and server. Without David's mentoring of
Jameson Heesen, Palace Chat would likely not exist, as David shared much of his findings with Jameson, including the XOR(xtlk) encryption used to encrypt chats and generation of client registration codes, prop encoding and decoding, and so much more. Much later(circa 2010) and after numerous source code leaks, Open Palace was developed by Brian McKelvey. Jameson utilized Brian's open source Open Palace to implement scripting support into Palace Chat. Brian also spearheaded the development of Type 1 avatars, which Palace Chat adopted and continues to utilize.
250:
128:
66:
25:
486:. One of the unique features of the Palace for its time was that the server software was given away for free and ran on consumer PCs, rather than being housed in a central location. Two of the original beta testers, Ben LaCascia(Now Bethany O'Brien), and Justice LeClaire are still active(as of 2/2024).
530:
Official Palace software development ceased when
Communities.com declared bankruptcy, but a few developers have created viable Palace-protocol compatible clients since then. The earliest contributions came from David Lee, Lead Developer of Phalanx. David worked for many years reverse engineering the
526:
purchased the rights to the Palace software and technology as part of a bankruptcy settlement. The software is currently unsupported by Open Text or any of its previous owners, and many members of the community now provide unofficial support for existing versions. The original thepalace.com domain
464:
Dollz became popular with the users on The Palace, particularly teenagers, with several rooms dedicated to unofficial Dollz editing contests. Teenagers also used Dollz as avatars as a sign of rebellion against The Palace's older users. The popularity of Dollz has inspired several personal websites
391:
Each room in a palace is represented by a large image that serves as a backdrop for users. By clicking on certain areas in a room called "doors", users can travel either to different rooms in the same palace, another palace server, or an address leading to a different service, such as websites and
553:
Signing into The Palace does not require any registration or personal information. To begin chatting, users download the client, set their user handle and login to a server. A child filter is enabled on the client by default, which filters out chat servers with an Adult ranking and inappropriate
489:
From around 1997, artists began to use the Palace as a site for experimental live performance. Notably, the group
Desktop Theatre staged interventions and performances in their own and public Palaces from 1997 until 2002. In 1997 they presented "waitingforgodot.com" at the Third Annual Digital
473:
The Palace was originally created by Jim
Bumgardner and produced by Time Warner Interactive in 1994, with its official website launching to the public in November 1995. Bumgardner incorporated many features of Idaho, an in-house authoring tool he had previously developed for making multimedia
361:
While there is no longer any official support for the original program, a new client has been developed and is actively maintained by
Jameson Heesen. Many chat servers are still operating and can be found on the Palace Portal Live Directory. Palace clients and servers are available for
545:, took place at the Palace. This collection of essays, entitled Life at the Palace, consists of an analysis of Palace history, social relationships, "addiction," and deviance. Suler's work focused on the unique aspects of interacting via avatars and in a graphical space.
592:, written by a former Palace lead developer. The Manor includes embedded Python for user and room scripting with an encrypted data stream. Supports importing Palace avatars. Both new incarnations of The Palace support larger room sizes and 32-bit color avatars.
358:, in which users may interact with one another using graphical avatars overlaid on a graphical backdrop. The software concept was originally created by Jim Bumgardner and produced by Time Warner in 1994, and was first opened to the public in November 1995.
415:
The Palace has an avatar system that allows users to combine small, partially transparent images. Once a member has created an avatar, the member can pick up various pieces of clothing or other accessories. By default, users are represented by
566:, created by Jameson Heesen (known in the community as PaVVn), which supports all original features of The Palace, as well as high-quality backgrounds and avatars, larger rooms and videos. This is the primary client in use.
490:
Storytelling
Festival, which took an interesting turn when another Palatian changed their name to Godot and arrived in the performance. Other artists working in The Palace include Avatar Body
505:
had their own palace chat room that fans could download from their official website. Palace's popularity at this time could also be attributed to a palace which focused on the cartoon
441:
credited the creation of Dollz to
Rainman, who based his "Sk8er" doll on his comic strip. Other sources claimed that Melicia Greenwood created the first Dollz, basing her avatar on
433:
In Q3 1997, several users began using doll-inspired images as avatars with a customizable appearance. The avatars were known as "Little People" before later collectively named
38:
392:
email. In some rooms, users are allowed to paint on the backdrop using a simple suite of drawing tools. User messages appear as chat bubbles above their
534:
All of these new clients support improved high-color avatars, larger room backgrounds (also in high-color), and modern sound formats (such as
538:), and are designed for modern operating systems. However, only Palace Chat is presently maintained and is the present-day client of choice.
192:
875:
164:
922:
953:
733:
44:
660:
229:
211:
109:
52:
786:
171:
149:
142:
76:
764:
178:
465:
dedicated to creating and customizing Dollz, outside of The Palace community. The majority of Dollz creators were female.
479:
160:
575:
Phalanx, primarily developed by David Lee by meticulously reverse-engineering the official client and was released by
893:
686:
91:
825:
249:
138:
87:
854:
393:
262:
948:
599:
409:
185:
728:
523:
323:
302:
311:
879:
375:
307:
295:
918:
318:
278:
723:
450:
652:
541:
One of the first comprehensive psychological studies of avatar communities, conducted by
790:
579:. It's currently abandoned, but was the first viable alternative to the official client.
527:
was bought by a long time Palace user, and is now used as a directory for other sites.
516:
457:. Other popular Dollz used on The Palace were Wonderkins, Silents, and Divas (based on
942:
760:
617:
454:
522:
The Palace was the subject of a number of sales between companies until 2001, when
628:
511:
as well as the Sci Fi channel's
Mothership palace. There was even a link to the
127:
542:
512:
507:
458:
397:
257:
820:
622:
483:
351:
897:
682:
569:
815:
498:
475:
423:
367:
363:
287:
283:
482:-like programming language. The name is a play on the word "script" in
438:
846:
576:
446:
442:
427:
420:
417:
94:. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.
371:
291:
502:
535:
121:
59:
18:
589:
334:
604:
607:, an open-source visual chat program written in Tcl/Tk.
83:
595:
497:
The Palace's popularity peaked around 1999–2000, when
717:
715:
713:
711:
709:
707:
705:
703:
724:"On 'The Palace,' you can be anyone you want to be"
563:
329:
317:
301:
277:
269:
256:
809:
807:
653:"Psychology of Cyberspace - History of The Palace"
408:"Dollz" redirects here. For the girl group, see
445:while catering to counter-culture audiences of
16:Computer program to access graphical chat rooms
754:
752:
750:
8:
894:"The Palace Legacy Project - Palace History"
242:
53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
474:CD-ROMs. One of the features of Idaho was
350:is a computer program to access graphical
248:
241:
646:
644:
572:, an open source Linux client using GTK+.
230:Learn how and when to remove this message
212:Learn how and when to remove this message
110:Learn how and when to remove this message
426:, but can also wear up to nine separate
640:
148:Please improve this article by adding
7:
598:, an online virtual world utilizing
878:. 15 November 1999. Archived from
663:from the original on July 19, 2020
161:"The Palace" computer program
14:
785:Greenwood, Melicia (2003-09-11).
34:This article has multiple issues.
722:Carpenter, Nicole (2018-03-29).
584:Incompatible Palace-like clients
126:
64:
23:
925:from the original on 2014-04-12
857:from the original on 2015-03-08
828:from the original on 2012-09-10
767:from the original on 2012-01-06
736:from the original on 2021-07-23
689:from the original on 2016-08-08
42:or discuss these issues on the
814:Borgeson, Mitch (2003-10-07).
683:"Palace Portal Live Directory"
1:
847:"www.avatarbodycollision.org"
761:"Where do Sk8ters come from?"
554:language used in chat rooms.
150:secondary or tertiary sources
651:Suler, John (January 1997).
400:, and stored in a chat log.
851:www.avatarbodycollision.org
90:the claims made and adding
970:
407:
954:Virtual world communities
430:images known as "props."
247:
657:Psychology of Cyberspace
265:, independent developers
577:Brainhouse Laboratories
263:Time Warner Interactive
787:"The Originz of Dollz"
600:user-generated content
410:The Dollz (girl group)
396:, similar to those in
137:relies excessively on
524:Open Text Corporation
519:website at the time.
919:"Life at the Palace"
882:on 15 November 1999.
816:"Playing with dollz"
244:
382:Concept and design
75:possibly contains
376:Microsoft Windows
345:
344:
308:Virtual community
296:Microsoft Windows
240:
239:
232:
222:
221:
214:
196:
120:
119:
112:
77:original research
57:
961:
934:
933:
931:
930:
915:
909:
908:
906:
905:
896:. Archived from
890:
884:
883:
872:
866:
865:
863:
862:
843:
837:
836:
834:
833:
811:
802:
801:
799:
798:
789:. Archived from
782:
776:
775:
773:
772:
756:
745:
744:
742:
741:
719:
698:
697:
695:
694:
679:
673:
672:
670:
668:
648:
354:servers, called
341:
338:
336:
279:Operating system
252:
245:
235:
228:
217:
210:
206:
203:
197:
195:
154:
130:
122:
115:
108:
104:
101:
95:
92:inline citations
68:
67:
60:
49:
27:
26:
19:
969:
968:
964:
963:
962:
960:
959:
958:
939:
938:
937:
928:
926:
917:
916:
912:
903:
901:
892:
891:
887:
874:
873:
869:
860:
858:
845:
844:
840:
831:
829:
813:
812:
805:
796:
794:
784:
783:
779:
770:
768:
758:
757:
748:
739:
737:
721:
720:
701:
692:
690:
681:
680:
676:
666:
664:
650:
649:
642:
638:
614:
586:
560:
551:
471:
413:
406:
389:
384:
333:
270:Initial release
236:
225:
224:
223:
218:
207:
201:
198:
155:
153:
147:
143:primary sources
131:
116:
105:
99:
96:
81:
69:
65:
28:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
967:
965:
957:
956:
951:
941:
940:
936:
935:
910:
885:
867:
838:
803:
777:
746:
699:
674:
639:
637:
634:
633:
632:
625:
620:
613:
610:
609:
608:
602:
593:
585:
582:
581:
580:
573:
567:
559:
556:
550:
547:
517:Comedy Central
515:palace on the
470:
467:
405:
402:
388:
385:
383:
380:
343:
342:
331:
327:
326:
321:
315:
314:
305:
299:
298:
281:
275:
274:
271:
267:
266:
260:
254:
253:
238:
237:
220:
219:
134:
132:
125:
118:
117:
72:
70:
63:
58:
32:
31:
29:
22:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
966:
955:
952:
950:
949:1995 software
947:
946:
944:
924:
920:
914:
911:
900:on 2017-05-13
899:
895:
889:
886:
881:
877:
871:
868:
856:
852:
848:
842:
839:
827:
823:
822:
817:
810:
808:
804:
793:on 2003-12-03
792:
788:
781:
778:
766:
762:
755:
753:
751:
747:
735:
731:
730:
725:
718:
716:
714:
712:
710:
708:
706:
704:
700:
688:
684:
678:
675:
662:
658:
654:
647:
645:
641:
635:
631:
630:
626:
624:
621:
619:
618:Active Worlds
616:
615:
611:
606:
603:
601:
597:
594:
591:
588:
587:
583:
578:
574:
571:
568:
565:
562:
561:
558:Other clients
557:
555:
548:
546:
544:
539:
537:
532:
528:
525:
520:
518:
514:
510:
509:
504:
500:
495:
494:(2002-2007).
493:
487:
485:
481:
477:
468:
466:
462:
460:
456:
452:
448:
444:
440:
436:
431:
429:
425:
422:
419:
411:
403:
401:
399:
395:
386:
381:
379:
377:
373:
369:
365:
359:
357:
353:
349:
340:
332:
328:
325:
322:
320:
316:
313:
309:
306:
304:
300:
297:
293:
289:
285:
282:
280:
276:
273:November 1995
272:
268:
264:
261:
259:
255:
251:
246:
234:
231:
216:
213:
205:
194:
191:
187:
184:
180:
177:
173:
170:
166:
163: –
162:
158:
157:Find sources:
151:
145:
144:
140:
135:This article
133:
129:
124:
123:
114:
111:
103:
93:
89:
85:
79:
78:
73:This article
71:
62:
61:
56:
54:
47:
46:
41:
40:
35:
30:
21:
20:
927:. Retrieved
913:
902:. Retrieved
898:the original
888:
880:the original
876:"South Park"
870:
859:. Retrieved
850:
841:
830:. Retrieved
819:
795:. Retrieved
791:the original
780:
769:. Retrieved
738:. Retrieved
727:
691:. Retrieved
677:
665:. Retrieved
656:
627:
552:
540:
533:
529:
521:
506:
496:
491:
488:
472:
463:
434:
432:
414:
390:
360:
355:
347:
346:
258:Developer(s)
226:
208:
199:
189:
182:
175:
168:
156:
136:
106:
97:
74:
50:
43:
37:
36:Please help
33:
729:The Outline
629:Second Life
421:smiley face
398:comic books
324:Proprietary
943:Categories
929:2013-09-17
904:2016-10-09
861:2015-03-23
832:2010-03-29
797:2010-03-29
771:2021-07-24
740:2021-07-24
693:2016-08-11
636:References
564:PalaceChat
543:John Suler
513:South Park
508:South Park
459:Diva Starz
348:The Palace
337:.thepalace
243:The Palace
172:newspapers
139:references
84:improve it
39:improve it
821:Salon.com
759:Cyberia.
623:CyberTown
605:OpenVerse
590:The Manor
492:Collision
484:Pig Latin
424:emoticons
418:spherical
352:chat room
202:June 2007
100:July 2018
88:verifying
45:talk page
923:Archived
855:Archived
826:Archived
765:Archived
734:Archived
687:Archived
667:June 24,
661:Archived
612:See also
499:nu metal
476:IPTSCRAE
368:Mac OS X
364:Mac OS 9
288:Mac OS X
284:Mac OS 9
596:Worlize
549:Privacy
469:History
455:skaters
439:fanzine
404:Avatars
387:Palaces
356:palaces
330:Website
319:License
186:scholar
82:Please
570:Linpal
453:, and
443:Barbie
428:bitmap
394:avatar
374:, and
312:client
294:, and
188:
181:
174:
167:
159:
501:band
480:Forth
451:goths
447:preps
435:Dollz
372:Linux
292:Linux
193:JSTOR
179:books
669:2020
503:Korn
478:, a
437:. A
339:.com
303:Type
165:news
536:MP3
461:).
335:www
141:to
86:by
945::
921:.
853:.
849:.
824:.
818:.
806:^
763:.
749:^
732:.
726:.
702:^
685:.
659:.
655:.
643:^
449:,
378:.
370:,
366:,
310:,
290:,
286:,
152:.
48:.
932:.
907:.
864:.
835:.
800:.
774:.
743:.
696:.
671:.
412:.
233:)
227:(
215:)
209:(
204:)
200:(
190:·
183:·
176:·
169:·
146:.
113:)
107:(
102:)
98:(
80:.
55:)
51:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
