Since the dawn of the time, our users have yearned to connect to chat using HTML5 instead of Flash – we’re pleased to announce this is now a reality. HTML5 chat is rolling out today.

With our shiny new WebSockets chat implementation, you’ll experience:

• Speed: Chat loads nearly 4x faster on average
• Efficiency: Chat uses fewer CPU resources, especially in busy chat rooms
• The Future: This is a big step towards a complete HTML5 Twitch experience

To our users who don’t use a WebSockets-capable browser or prefer using IRC, don’t panicBasket! Older browsers that aren’t WebSockets-capable will still connect using Flash and our existing IRC support isn’t going anywhere.

What do I need to do to get HTML5 chat? Absolutely nothing. As long as you’re using a Websocket-capable browser, HTML5 will start working automatically. Please note that we’re gradually introducing HTML5 chat to everyone throughout the day, so if you haven’t seen it yet – don’t worry. It’s coming.

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