There are many netcats, some of them can bind to localhost. ncat (Nmap's nc) even has a --chat option for multi-party chats. It also has SSL options, so you co

There are many netcats, some of them can bind to localhost. ncat (Nmap's nc) even has a --chat option for multi-party chats. It also has SSL options, so you could just throw the ssh away and use it exclusively.