Incorporating CHAT functionality

a very dynamic ingredient missing

[sunandoghosh]

Hi dear friends,

while we all have been talking out here about forums and all the possible choices in terms of features etc, there seems to be absolutely no discussion about incorporating real time CHAT functionality.

With a view to help all of us to have a comprehensive overview about various aspects of incorporating CHAT functinality, I request everybody to actively offer their views on the following:

1. what are the advantages u think chat offers?
2. likewise disadvantages?
3. which softwares are available and what pricing features?
4. do we have something like phpbb or v bulletin in CHAT space too.(i mean free and paid)
and so on.

Thanks once again.

Hope to see an active discussion.

sunando

[gilliganmn]

Hi sunandoghosh,

I totally agree, it is a piece that is missing, mainly because it's not technically easy to do on an enterprise level from within a web page.

I know of one company adding an enterprise level chat to their forum product. I don't think it's appropriate to mention on this board so contact me through a sticky mail if you'd like to discuss further.

Thanks!
Jay

[rogerd]

Good topic, sunandoghosh. I was thinking about raising a similar issue. One busy forum I admin seems like a candidate for adding a chat feature. One of the big issues I see with chat is the moderation required - if you want to keep control of things, you have to have a continuous presence.

One approach we considered was a time-limited chat, e.g., a one hour chat period featuring a particular topic or expert.

[sunandoghosh]

Thats rogerd.

Well i believe that there are two options we have in this regard.

We can have a moderated chat which obviously will help keep things under control but at the same time will be labour intensive as it will call for interaction.

But as i have seen many sites providing chat functionality without any moderation. Added to that is the fact that such sites also expressly provide the disclaimer that entering into their chat room is at own risk and it is UNmoderated.

Personally I prefer the second idea as per my circumstances where i dont have to devote much time once the chat is ready and installed. Also this would mean keeping my visitors request of adding chat functionality to site.

Again, here the point is which chat software to use and what options i have available. Is there a free option in chat arena too like phpbb forum (which i simply love).

Or when it comes to having a chat feature in website one has always to go for the paid softwares.

also if any free chat software is available do we need o have our own server, how much bandwidth it consumes, is it filled with vendor advertisements (since it is free) and all related issues.

Expecting sincere comments, suggestions, ideas and active participation.

as always sunando

[simonInOz]

A while back I wrote a completely browser based, dynamic chat system for a major bank. They wanted a busy site, so they tackled the moderation problem in an intriguing way. They scanned for "naughty words" and bounced such messages. (Some challenges here - certain single words were deemed rude used alone, but not in combination with other words - fun).

So I am in possesion of the official list of naughty words from a major bank.

How it made it through our firewall I have no idea.

[sunandoghosh]

I am really surprised that inspite of CHAT feature being such a dynamic Interactive tool for many website, there has been no encouraging discussion here regarding various issues as regards chat software and many other issues in implementing them specially inexpensive methods for a small website.

I strongly urge and humbly request everyone to put forward their valuable opinions.

sunando

[docubio]

I'm not an Adsense expert, but I think that putting Adsense on a page that has a chat feature is against the terms of service.

We should note that chat is a very different medium than forum postings. Chat is temporary unless logged and doesn't contribute to the collective knowledge archive of a site. The quality of dialogue is greatly different as well. However, it does offer immediate communication between participants, which can be extremely useful in some markets.

If we talk about the differences between forums, blogs, and chat rooms perhaps we can identify how to best use each of these.