What is the definition of third-party communications?

In amateur radio, the term 'third party' refers to anyone who is not one of the two licensed control operators actively communicating over the air. Therefore, third-party communications involve sending a message on behalf of an unlicensed person or an organization. This can happen in real-time when an unlicensed person is sitting next to you speaking into the microphone, or asynchronously when you are relaying a formal written message (like an NTS radiogram) for someone in your community. The term does not refer to the number of radios involved in a conversation. A round-table discussion involving three or more licensed amateur stations is simply a group contact, not third-party communications, assuming no messages are being passed for outside individuals.