Facebook Chat

• Facebook Chat has undergone significant changes through the course of its development. At first, Facebook Chat was limited to a small chat box at the bottom right-hand corner of your Facebook interface. The chat box was ever-present and showed all of your friends who were available to chat. You simply had to click a name to begin talking. One update saw the chat box moved to the left-hand side of the home page, after which Facebook Chat was changed to a sidebar construction that could be toggled on and off, depending on your preferences.
  
  

Changed Settings

• While your chat box was once automatically available on your page when you logged in, changes mean the chat box is no longer available. The side bar replaces the chat box even if you've made no changes to your chat settings. Facebook makes it possible to toggle the sidebar on and off, so if you see neither a chat box nor a chat sidebar, the sidebar has been hidden from view.
  
  

Hidden Box

• You should see the chat sidebar by default when you log into Facebook. If you don't, it means that the sidebar was manually toggled off to allow more room for your News Feed and other information. It's simple to turn the chat box back on. Just hover your cursor over the very lower right-hand corner on the bar labeled "Chat." The sidebar automatically appears, listing friends that Facebook perceives are close to you and anyone who is available to chat in real time.
  
  

Other Options

• You'll notice that your chat box doesn't only include friends who are available to chat. Close friends who are offline are also included. By clicking their names you can quickly access profiles and send offline messages. As of 2011, the side bar also contains real time updates of your friends' activities on Facebook, including comments, likes and games. Keep in mind that hiding the side bar will hide both the chat box and the real time news feed.