54 replies to this topic

[Torsten]

We've had chat features here before, but they were cumbersome and hogged bandwith. They also required a separate sign up. The new feature on this forum is part of the forum and can be used by any member with more than 10 posts.

All current moderators are also chat moderators. The same rules apply in chat as on the forums.

This is a trial run and I am looking forward to feedback.

Enjoy.

[at0m]

Loving it T. Many a fond memory are related to Shout Boxes

Edit: Posting it here (mentioned it in the shoutbox too though)

It'd be cool if you could switch the locations of the gallery object on the home page (have it a vertical scroll) and the chatbox. It's crazy-small and reading at 1-2 words per line is quite annoying
Another possibility may be to put it either just below or just above the gallery object that's on the front page.

Edited by at0m, 25 December 2011 - 01:16 AM.

[Torsten]

i don't think it is meant to be read there. it's just to show activity so you know who is posting. you then use the chat tab to open the window.

[Therefore]

cool, i will give it a whirl

[ballzac]

All current moderators are also chat moderators. The same rules apply in chat as on the forums.

I anticipate that good members will be slightly more likely to bend the rules (mostly the one about not incriminating yourself) in chat than on the boards. Would you suggest that mods be a tad more lenient in chat? I mean, obviously people can't be discussing drug manufacture, but I think it would be difficult to stop casual comments about illegal activies such as describing the previous night's binge, or saying "brb just having a cone of hash", lol. I might be wrong, and people might be on their best behaviour, but chat is a different animal to message boards, and I can see people taking the rules less seriously.

[Moses]

should i be able to see and read the chat box while not logged in?
other sites i've been on the chat function is only visible when logged in yet this morn the small chat box is visible and i can open it to the larger box and read all though i cant post

[Torsten]

Moses, that's fixed now. It is only visible to members now.

ballzac, you are right in that chat modding can be a bit more lenient. Mainly because the archive is only kept for 24h, so by the time people sober up it is usually gone anyway ;) [i may even decrease that to 6 hours]
I am more concerned about rules in regards to abuse. The real time nature of chat often means members who are not quite in control of their faculties take things a bit too far which impinges on the freedoms and enjoyment of others. Being drunk is no excuse for being racist, sexist or homophobic for example.

[Torsten]

I have turned off the media tag features in chat because posting these distorts the chat window which causes other problems. So while media can be posted simply as a URL in other parts of the forum and will be converted to the actual media tag, in chat it will simply show the URL as a link.

[sapito]

Its it not strange for others that the chat can be read from the homepage without people having to enter into the room itself? Its odd for me but maybe thats just me??

[ThunderIdeal]

what difference does it make? even when you "enter the room" your name doesn't appear in a user list. never heard of a shoutbox before but it seems a more apt description than 'chat'.

[sapito]

Im not sure I follow. There is a user list in the chat room.

2 active user(s) (in the past 5 minutes)
2 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users
sapito, Amazonian

Ive never heard of a shoutbox before either so maybe I am misinterpreting its purpose.

[Torsten]

I renamed the main tab 'chat' because most people don't know what a shoutbox is and might not investigate otherwise. It's still referred to as shoutbox elsewhere.
Seeing it on the main page is just so that people know when it is active. Otherwise it will just end up a serious of lone statements.

[Moses]

Its it not strange for others that the chat can be read from the homepage without people having to enter into the room itself? Its odd for me but maybe thats just me??

my interpretation of its use is that while using the main page you can monitor who is chatting so you can join in if you want or if shouted out to, id actually like it to appear on the top of all pages so if waiting for a response you can still peruse the site while keeping an eye on the little shout box without having to have multiple pages open, but then i only log on if i need to post so 95% of the time i don't log on so wont see or use the chat , great addition though.

[ThunderIdeal]

the active user list just tells you who has shouted recently, and you don't need a list for that. what i'm trying to say is, in a chat room, you know that your messages are only going to the people in the userlist. the shoutbox doesn't have that privacy aspect.

[eatfoo]

Like most shout-box's it only displays the most recent 10-20 comments. Are the comments that are bumped off stored anywere?

[Alice]

Are the comments that are bumped off stored anywere?

the archive is only kept for 24h

[sapito]

Torsten, is there a setting that could be changed that would allow messages to be sent by hitting enter rather than clicking 'shout'? When using the shoutbox from the homepage you can use enter to send msgs but if you are in the shoutbox page itself then you have to click 'shout'?

[ballzac]

Torsten, is there a setting that could be changed that would allow messages to be sent by hitting enter rather than clicking 'shout'? When using the shoutbox from the homepage you can use enter to send msgs but if you are in the shoutbox page itself then you have to click 'shout'?

If you go to "My Prefs" (Three buttons to the right of "Shout") there is an option "Enter Key Acts As 'Shout' Button?". Mine is default to "yes" anyway, but if it's not on yours, then that's how to change it.

[sapito]

Mine is set to "yes" also but does not work.

Does it work for you ballzac?

[ThunderIdeal]

i just type my message then hit tab then enter. then shift plus tab puts my cursor back in the box to type my next message.

[Amazonian]

what is 'tab' Thunderz? is that the sapce bar?

[GoOnThen]

what is 'tab' Thunderz? is that the sapce bar?

The one with the two arrows above the cap lock on the left hand side of the key board

Cheers
Got

[Torsten]

what is 'tab' Thunderz? is that the sapce bar?

It's the one with the letters TAB on it

[Amazonian]

. Thanks Torsten. I thought it was slang for something, i didnt think it was something so obvious. * flicks blonde hair

[ThunderIdeal]

i'd prefer if more messages were displayed. it seems like fewer messages are stored now compared to when it was first implemented.

you lose the continuity sometimes even if you come and go 20+ times in a day, and because of this i'm less inclined to use the feature.

Edited by ThunderIdeal, 26 January 2012 - 04:42 PM.