Hotline is a relatively new program/internet protocol by Hotline Communications. Hotline combine the file storage/transfer functionality of FTP, the chat capabilities of IRC/ICG/IM, the bulletin board posting abilities of news groups and BBS, and just an all around cool interface, all into one program. You can get it too from Hotline's site.
The reason I'm including this software in the contact section is that I run my own Hotline server off of my computer. You can visit me there and we could chat. My domain name is bjackson.mac.trincoll.edu. I also have a number of alternate domain names that I have free from Monolith Inc. Here is a list: