Getting Input Without Freezing Program

Im trying to create a chat program for my game. I cant use input(as far as i know) because it freezes the program.
I need to be able to get input from a user without the game freezing. Any ideas? Thanks

You'll need to code your own input system. Shouldn't be too hard. Input command is crap, anyways. ;)

Yes, as big10p says, write your own. You could use ReadKey or GetKey (forgot the name) for that.

Code archives has this which is very useful:

http://www.blitzbasic.com/codearcs/codearcs.php?code=207