Real Time Chat

[JayC]

I was thinking about installing a chat module here so people could have a chat room and hang out and BS during work hours, etc. I wanted to get some feedback and see if anyone would be interested.

Id probably use a flash based chat system to avoid any firewall issues with ident servers.

What do you guys think?

[JohnGalt]

JayC previously said:

I was thinking about installing a chat module here so people could have a chat room and hang out and BS during work hours, etc. I wanted to get some feedback and see if anyone would be interested.

Id probably use a flash based chat system to avoid any firewall issues with ident servers.

What do you guys think?

Works for me. Although I've used chat quite a bit, I don't have any experience with chat as part of a discussion board, so I see two potential issues.

On a positive note, I suppose it might help people avoid hijacking threads and/or rambling inside a thread unnecessarily.

On a potential negative note: the possibility exists that great info will be exchanged in chat sort of 'on the fly'. This means:

a) people may miss out on potentially important info/convos they would have like to have heard, and

b) important info may not get memorialized in threads as it is today, thereby making it hard to research information (that took place in a live conversation).

All in all, it would create a live and probably colorful discussion area and provide a way for people to exchange information more quickly and that doesn't lend itself to posting back and forth.....

I say we try it and gather feedback. My biggest concern is missing out on good info that would otherwise be permanently archived in a thread today.

[Matt07FJ]

I like the idea.....chat free flows so much easier....if it's something major, someone will still thread it.....at least once..haha

Matt

[JayC]

Those are valid concerns.. usually tho, forum based chat consists of conversations kind of like this.

<Me> Hey dude
<You> Word up!
<Me> j00 r t3h n00b FJ cruzer ownah!!11oneone!
<You> j00 r t3h l4m3!!1
<Me> Okay, Bye

Seriously, it's mostly social interaction and while there is some technical knowledge exchanged, I dont see it taking away from the forums.

[1983FJ60]

An IRC chat client would be cool.

Integrates well with ChatZilla.

[JayC]

Yea and I have been a huge fan of integrating IRC portals with forums but recently, I've had a change of heart. Mainly because the IRC java based portals suck and there are too many people who dont know what IRC is and how it works, let alone how to set up a client. Then you get into problems with people's firewalls blocking port 113 and it just goes on and on.

Not to mention network issues with splits, etc.. EFnet or any of the larger networks are suicide for a channel like this with all the splits, desyncs, etc and the smaller networks generally have their good and bad days as well.

The flash based chat has been well received on some other forums so I thought I might try it out here instead of a true IRC portal.

[Bostonian1976]

this would be cool except CaliFJ would start talking dirty to everyone

yeah I think it'd be a cool feature as long as people didn't abuse it or you got advertisers im'ing everyone...

[OFRD_GRL]

chat rocks!

[JohnGalt]

JayC previously said:

Yea and I have been a huge fan of integrating IRC portals with forums but recently, I've had a change of heart. Mainly because the IRC java based portals suck and there are too many people who dont know what IRC is and how it works, let alone how to set up a client. Then you get into problems with people's firewalls blocking port 113 and it just goes on and on.

Not to mention network issues with splits, etc.. EFnet or any of the larger networks are suicide for a channel like this with all the splits, desyncs, etc and the smaller networks generally have their good and bad days as well.

The flash based chat has been well received on some other forums so I thought I might try it out here instead of a true IRC portal.

I've used Dalnet for years (and efnet). You are very correct in that IRC can be problematic with the ident issues you raised earlier as well as the k-lines for certain (sometimes major) domains. The splits were a problem a while back, but I haven't seen them so much recently.

I do think mIrc as a client on PC's is pretty simple. But it sounds like the flash based might be the best way to go.

[ThatsRicci]

ya, web based chat is more ideal. tons of free solutions out there... go nuts!