A Chat Box

[Nikhar]

I was wondering if we could have a chat box on Litnet. I think it would be great. It would allow us all to connect with others online much more conveniently. Also, it could be a nice meeting place for Forum Book Club meetings. I wonder if its just me but I find refreshing the page just to check if the person has replied or not particularly annoying.

I'm sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere. Kindly consider this.

[Nikhar]

No one considers to even respond to this?

[Katy North]

Yes! A chat box would be excellent! I'd love to talk to fellow lit netters in real time.

[cgrillo]

I agree. I've been on a few websites that featured chat boxes, and talking to friends on the website was much easier. Plus, the conversations could be much more casual, like the ones that may be considered spam in the forums. :D

[applepie]

An IM type function would be really nice to have, but then I'm not one of the ones who is on chatting back and forth often. I may do so more if we had something like that :D

[kilted exile]

Please God No

[Niamh]

We dont need a chat box. The general chat forum is there for general chatting. There is also a live chat thread where members can have continuous nonsensical or serious banter as much as they desire. :)

[Logos]

In theory it's a nice idea..... but.... it would be one more place that needs to be moderated as it would likely be abused by trolls and spammers :willy_nilly: :)

[Katy North]

Well, here's an idea... if we have aim or yahoo messenger we could pm our handle to other members and have chats anyway... that way they wouldn't need to be moderated, they would be private and available only to members who wanted to chat...

[OrphanPip]

IRC clients can support large groups for chatting, and it doesn't require adding people like msn or aim. If people are interested you can just join a random server on IRC.highway make a channel and post the information for other people to join you.

Edit:

You can download an IRC client like mIRC for windows, free here:

http://www.mirc.com/

Then once you have it you join a server:

/server irc.freenode.net

Once connected to the server:

/join #lit-net

And I'll be there, the program is free, no risk of being hassled by people you don't like who get your email for msn, and it supports large groups very well.

Edit2: I don't think this should be a problem for moderators since it's not technically being hosted on the site, and it would just be members meeting up on their own.

Edit3: The mIRC client will give you an option to register for 20$, but this is optional the program works completely without being registered, you just have to wait like 30 seconds longer for it to start.

Edit4: Sorry I missed you cgrillo, got your message but I wasn't watching the channel closely lol.

[DanielBenoit]

:D Yay, OrphanPip helped me out and it works!! All littneters join NOW or else.

I'll start displaying the propaganda if you like:

http://liveforfilms.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/star_wars_trading_card_propaganda_poster_01.jpg

[cgrillo]

I visited for a few minutes last night, but no one was there and I could only stay for a little while.

[blazeofglory]

I love the idea of a chat box thinking that it will get us closer and closer but I have no idea as to how to start with. Is there anybody to tell me how I can start here

[Nikhar]

I really liked your idea orphanpip. But I think it just might get a bit confusing for newbies. Here's another alternative I suggest:-


Well, ajax chat can be installed in a new subforum and only people with 100 posts or more will have access to the subforum. That would obviously take care of worries about spamming and trolling.

[hoope]

In theory it's a nice idea..... but.... it would be one more place that needs to be moderated as it would likely be abused by trolls and spammers :willy_nilly: :)

I put my voice with Naimh and Logos.. its no need for that , I have seen sites with a chat box and most ended up closing it . It will need to be moderated and besides as said .. we have live chats threads and games forum .. !

[Admin]

I would consider installing it on a trial basis.

I'd be more worried about server loads than moderation issues really.

Probably not now though, after the next major software upgrade maybe. I'll keep it in mind. I could definitely see the value for a book club meeting.

[OrphanPip]

There's also the option of the java freenode applet for IRC, this wouldn't use up bandwidth, but would require users to have java installed.

http://java.freenode.net//index.php?channel=lit-net

Edit: It wouldn't be as useful for just general chatting, but for pre-arranged meetings it would be a simple solution. (It would also be much simpler for most people than my previous suggestion that they just download an IRC program :p)

[Aragorn Elessar]

I was thinking about this the other day. I think it would be a good idea, and the only problem with getting an IRC channel for the web site is that most people probably wouldn't be able to find it. It would be nicer to have an application accessible via the web site.

[ClaesGefvenberg]

In theory it's a nice idea..... but.... it would be one more place that needs to be moderated as it would likely be abused by trolls and spammers


I'd be more worried about server loads than moderation issues really. Been there, done that. We did start one in a forum I moderate, and spammers and trolls immediately turned up. I'm not saying the problems are insurmountable, but whatever you do, do not disregard that aspect.

/Claes

[kiz_paws]

Please God NoLoL; but I agree :nod:

We dont need a chat box. The general chat forum is there for general chatting. There is also a live chat thread where members can have continuous nonsensical or serious banter as much as they desire. :)True dat