I've been wondering if maybe we can get a chat box installed on the forums? My thinking is it would be fun, we USED to have one back in the day, and anything that gets people to keep their eyes on the board is probably a good idea in terms of keeping things more active.
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=148472 Maybe? There are other options I'm sure.
edit: this was totally the wrong account for posting this but oh well
Last edited by Jane; Mar 2nd, 2013 at 04:43:49 PM.
I just did a search for 'chat box' in the vbulletin forums so that link I posted may or may not have any actual value.
oh what a tangled web I weave
I would not be against this.
I'm not sure how much use this would get. To use a chat box, you'd need to be sat with Fans open. If any of us have Fans open, we've probably got AIM open as well, and are chatting on that. And, anyone who logs on from work will probably find it harder to keep Fans permanently open than to have AIM sneakily running.
Maybe looking into something like an IRC chat room would make more sense? Most of the IM clients (Trillian, etc) let you log on to IRC, so it'd be easier to sneakily log onto from work. An IRC chat room would basically be a giant AIM group chat that was permanently running. Plus, you could probably even log into it from a smart phone too, which means you wouldn't have to be glued to your keyboard to use it.
Maybe there's a way to have both? A chat box that is also an IRC server, so we can cover all the bases?
I'd have to defer to Ogre on what is/isn't feasible.
As I recall, chat boxes act like miniature threads, as in the recent messages are saved and loaded for people to see upon visiting the site. That way, you are able to take part regardless of when you last reloaded the forums. I've only ever seen it used for silly banter between forum members, to be honest, and I'd say it was a novelty at best. There is also the danger that it could divert what little activity we have on the forums to the shout box itself.
I would rather have a shoutbox or chat thing that is just connected to if you're a member at this site rather than having AIM, exactly for silly banter. Yes, it is a novelty, and I don't see it diverting RPing energy away from threads except perhaps the random thought thread which has, to be honest, sucked up a lot of things that would have turned into separate threads in the past.
I've not seen it have an adverse impact on posting over at SWRPG.
I wasn't suggesting something that you have to be on AIM to use. I was suggesting something that you could use without having to be logged in to SW-Fans.Originally Posted by Lilaena De'Ville
To use a shout box, you have to be logged in to SW-Fans. That might be tricky for people who are at work all day (some employers aren't fond of people browsing social sites on work time), and when people are at home they might be too busy browsing other sites, playing video games, and all that jazz to keep clicking back to Fans all the time.
I'm wondering if there's perhaps an alternative that might be more useful to everyone. Is it possible to log into a shout box via IM software (AS WELL as on the website)? Is there an app for it available on smartphones? Is it possible to have an embedded chat room somewhere on the forums, that can be accessed via IM / app / whatever? Can the forums display a twitter feed, or a reddit feed, or something else that can be accessed across a lot of platforms?
If a shout box is just for silly banter, I'm not sure how it differs from us just having a silly banter thread... but maybe there's something similar that could have more use/functionality.
Last edited by Captain Untouchable; Mar 6th, 2013 at 09:29:03 AM.
If 10 individuals, not aliases, post here stating that they would like to add this feature, I will add it. So far I see one confirmed. LD
I'd like it added too
Last edited by TheHolo.Net; Mar 6th, 2013 at 02:00:23 PM. Reason: #2
I'll give my 'yes' to this.
Last edited by TheHolo.Net; Mar 6th, 2013 at 02:00:34 PM. Reason: #3
Yes why not!
Last edited by TheHolo.Net; Mar 6th, 2013 at 02:37:37 PM. Reason: #4
Since people seem to be positive about the idea, and I have no real objection, I'm going to toss my vote into the "Yes" pile.
Last edited by TheHolo.Net; Mar 6th, 2013 at 03:28:34 PM. Reason: #5
I echo Droo's sentiment... there's no harm in it I suppose, so consider me #6.
Last edited by TheHolo.Net; Mar 6th, 2013 at 03:34:13 PM. Reason: #6
It's like that, and that's the way it is.
Sure. This sounds like fun. [/Vince]
Last edited by Malcolm Duncan; Mar 6th, 2013 at 04:57:36 PM. Reason: #7
Make it so, Number One! (yes)
Last edited by TheHolo.Net; Mar 6th, 2013 at 06:24:23 PM. Reason: #8
Count me as your ninth 'yes'
Last edited by TheHolo.Net; Mar 7th, 2013 at 11:38:11 AM. Reason: #9
Table for No, party of one...I know I'm in the overwhelming minority, but I just don't like chatboxes. I don't want one more thing to have to remember to look at, and frankly, with all the ways we have to communicate and keep in touch and banter, etc., I really don't see the point.
But if it gets approved, I'd at least like a way to be able to turn it off.
When we had one before it was on the portal page in the side bar - I'm not sure where we would put it when we get a new one, but somewhere unobtrusive (but not overly difficult to find) and having the option to toggle it off isn't a bad idea.
Putting it in the portal page would encourage more eyes on whatever content we put on the portal. Right now I bet we only go there by accident.
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