A chat user interface for threaded text chat systems. The user interface can include a canvas view in which multiple portions of a threaded text tree for a chat session can be rendered separately and concurrently. The user interface further can include a chat participant view, a chat input view and an outline view of an ongoing chat session. Notably, selections of a threaded text tree rendered in the canvas view can be configured for zooming so that certain parts of the threaded text tree can be viewed more readily than other parts of the threaded text tree. Moreover, as new text entries are provided to any branch of the threaded text tree, visual indicators can be activated in the canvas view to alert an end user to the location of the new text entries. Finally, the canvas view can accommodate both imported external objects, such as graphics or links to Web pages, and also a white board region into which notations can be applied by an end user during the course of a chat session.