User Poll: Integrated Chat Room

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Should we upgrade the existing chat-box to a fully integrated chat room?

Please vote once in the poll above - a post in this thread is not needed.

[Amos Iakona]

Clarification question: what do you mean by "fully integrated" chat room? Is this something that will only be accessible by going to a specific URL (tricky for people to use while at work), or something IRC-based (or similar) that people will be able to log into using an app like Trillian/etc on their phone?

Whether or not people are going to be able to use it during the day might change people's opinions on it somewhat. :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Fully integrated in the sense that the wiki is fully integrated. You would be signed into it if you are signed into the forums, and you would see it on the forums similar to the existing chat box.

[Droo]

I'd hate it. The chat box is a novelty and I like it that way. I think it's much easier to use a program like AIM, which I can alt-tab to without fuss, instead of having to keep a browser window open all the time, and on a specific page. But then, I'm hardly around these days, and I don't see me using it like I still occasionally use AIM, so all I have to go by is previous experience.

[Captain Untouchable]

I think the risk here is that we will spread ourselves too thin. An integrated chat (as described) can't compete with the AIM chat, because it isn't convenient for people at work / on cell phones / who don't want tabs permanently open / etc. Those who need to use the AIM chat will still use the AIM chat... so unless we're hoping that everyone will choose to be in all the chats at once, it's not going to do the job of bringing people together that a chat room is supposed to do.

Plus... if it's based on being logged in to the forums, isn't that going to make things confusing every time someone switches account to write a post? With the current chat box (or AIM) it's very easy to know who everyone is. I feel sorry for any new (or old) people who are going to have to keep track of which 50 account names belong to Charley, and which 50 belong to Jace.

[Morgan Evanar]

It's not that hard to maintain a certain browser session.

[Captain Untouchable]

It's not that hard to use AIM, either?

Droo was talking more about convenience than "ease", I think. Something that is mobile-accessible has maximum convenience points.

[Miranda Tarkin]

And also not everyone uses AIM. I know I'm in the minority but I keep up with board happenings by reading the board and PM. Also, FB for those that want to converse. Not saying change the chat just for me or others in my situation, but that was a factor into my decision.

[Captain Untouchable]

That's exactly the problem, though. Not everyone uses AIM. Not everyone uses Skype. Not everyone can/will use an integrated chat.

For the people who can't/don't currently use AIM: yeah, it'll give them somewhere to chat. But it doesn't add them to the existing conversation: it starts a new, separate conversation. We're making a venn diagram of chats: there's bound to be some people who will be in the overlap because they're able to participate in all of them, but there's also going to be people who are missing out on stuff. That seems bad to me: surely we should be trying to get as many people as possible in the same place?

I voted 'no', because I don't think the integrated chat that's being proposed is the right solution. It adds value, but only a limited amount, and I am positive there are better options that will cover more bases. For example: there are IRC plugins for vbulletin, and you can log into an IRC chat via Trillian, so it's great for desktop users and mobile users. I'm sure there are other possibilites as well. If there was a "we should see if there's a better option first" choice on the poll, I would have voted for that.

[Ilias Nytrau]

You can also join any IRC chat via Mibbit (https://www.mibbit.com/). For my purposes, I keep an IRC client (IceChat) on my laptop - I op on the unofficial NaNoWriMo IRC server throughout the year, though more during NaNo and Camp NaNo.

I'm all for IRC if we were to go this route. Otherwise, I'm not terribly fussed, either way.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

It's for helping facilitate conversations between people from the board. "Spreading ourselves too thin" doesn't make sense to me as an argument. If you want to talk to someone, there are many ways to do so. We used to NEVER have a dedicated AIM chatroom, and we all managed just fine. In terms of a content to noise ratio in the AIM chat, it's a lot of noise. Which is fine - it's for friends to talk to each other about whatever, and sometimes RP stuff comes up.

As has been noted many times, however, exclusively planning stuff in the AIM chat that might affect the boards is frowned upon. Make an OOC thread for that sort of thing, that way nothing is left out. An expanded chat room (whether IRC or integrated or whatever) would just be an easier way for some people to chat with each other.

edit: I look at it like a casino - do they need to have a hotel and five restaurants? Not really, but because they do the people who visit them are spending more time in their facility. If we have a better chat room then members will be spending more time on the board which will equal more activity here. More activity = more better. If there were only a few posts but someone cruising by notices that the board still has active members shooting the breeze in the chat, that makes the place look more inviting.

[Tear]

The Website itself voted 'no', guys. The end is nigh.

[Satkia Beltrak]

I prefer keeping up via the board and PM. I am not comfortable in large chat conversations, but that is a personal preference. Dropping by the chat box we currently have every once in a while is just a casual thing for me. When it comes to plotting, reading an OOC thread or exchanging PMs is what I prefer doing. But I know some people enjoy chat conversations, including in large groups, so I don't have a strong opinion about it, just that I will unlikely participate if an integreted chat room is implemented.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

I voted no because much of the time I'm connected to a chat through my phone, not a desktop of laptop. Keeping a ready tab available and open on my phone all the time is an exercise in futility for me. If we integrated the chat room, it's extremely unlikely you'd ever see me there, and I'd wind up missing out on a lot of plot stuff and planning.

That's my two cents. I'll keep using the AIM chat as long as folks are still in there. It's simple, reliable, and lets me keep up with things while out and about with ease.

[Captain Untouchable]

It's for helping facilitate conversations between people from the board. "Spreading ourselves too thin" doesn't make sense to me as an argument. If you want to talk to someone, there are many ways to do so. We used to NEVER have a dedicated AIM chatroom, and we all managed just fine. In terms of a content to noise ratio in the AIM chat, it's a lot of noise. Which is fine - it's for friends to talk to each other about whatever, and sometimes RP stuff comes up.

As has been noted many times, however, exclusively planning stuff in the AIM chat that might affect the boards is frowned upon. Make an OOC thread for that sort of thing, that way nothing is left out. An expanded chat room (whether IRC or integrated or whatever) would just be an easier way for some people to chat with each other.

edit: I look at it like a casino - do they need to have a hotel and five restaurants? Not really, but because they do the people who visit them are spending more time in their facility. If we have a better chat room then members will be spending more time on the board which will equal more activity here. More activity = more better. If there were only a few posts but someone cruising by notices that the board still has active members shooting the breeze in the chat, that makes the place look more inviting.

I didn't mean PM style conversations. I meant "the conversation", in the sense of people being part of the group.

Yes, more activity is better... but how much more activity do you actually expect to get if a lot of the people are still using AIM instead? That's what I mean by spreading ourselves too thin. If it's about apparent activity, then surely we want to find a way so that as many people as possible can visibly be part of the chat?

An integrated chat physically can't do that, for the numerous reasons discussed. Other options might, and maybe those are worth considering before we yay or nay vote on an imperfect solution?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I browse the forums a lot with my phone and don't have any trouble staying signed in or keeping a tab open for the forums. As far as maintaining a browser session on the go, goes.

Anyway, this thread wasn't set up to convince anyone either way (I would have put more effort into the OP if that were the case), we just want your votes on the matter. You may all continue to discuss if if you want.

[Razielle Alastor]

I'm not in the AIM chat anyways. D= So I can't be bothered to lament the potential loss of it.

All my plots come from contacting people directly. If there was a board chat that a bunch of people participated in, as opposed to the casual banter of a chat box, I would be more involved. So, for that reason I'm leaning toward Yes, with a strong support of 'I don't care either way.' :p

[Captain Untouchable]

Just for a minute, lets assume that we definitely do add some sort of chat room to the forums. Shouldn't we take the time to make sure we're going with the absolute best option, rather than just voting on the first one suggested?

With the right plugin, an IRC based chat room will work like you want it to. It can show up on a webpage for the people who want that, and it'll be visible to people browsing our site. It is ALSO able to be accessed by mobile apps and Trillian style IM software. You will also be able to pick a username (like we do with the current chat box), so there won't be any confusion when people switch accounts. It does everything that you guys are wanting, and it ALSO covers a lot of the AIM/mobile benefits on top of that as well. It covers pretty much all of the bases, without any real downside.

Is there any reason that we shouldn't at least consider this option?

Based on what has been said so far, the people in the no category are there for access/convenience reasons. If we can provide an on-site chatroom that also addresses those issues... then aren't we pretty much unanimous on that?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

A chat room attached to the forums would need to be subject to some content rules, and as such would need to be able to be moderated. I'm not sure an IRC plug in would allow us that control.

edit: No one said we wouldn't consider an IRC option. We don't have a specific chat room to implement at this time, I was planning on leaving it up to Ogre which one he thinks would serve best.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

We all use a bunch of different methods for chatting and carrying on. We have no intentions on replacing anything The only thing we're asking in this thread is whether or not folks want to upgrade the chatbox on the site itself.

[Captain Untouchable]

No one said we wouldn't consider an IRC option. We don't have a specific chat room to implement at this time, I was planning on leaving it up to Ogre which one he thinks would serve best.

As this thread has shown though, how a chat room is implemented makes a difference. That's why I asked for clarification right at the beginning. :)



We all use a bunch of different methods for chatting and carrying on. We have no intentions on replacing anything The only thing we're asking in this thread is whether or not folks want to upgrade the chatbox on the site itself.

No one said you had intentions of replacing anything.

I'm just suggesting that, if we're going to add a chat room anyway, maybe we can kill two birds with one stone here. Find a solution that is better for everyone, so we can all chat in the same place instead of chatting in several different places. After all, one of the cited reasons for wanting this was to help show how active the boards are: surely it's in our best interests then to try and find a way for as many people to use said chat, so the boards look as active as they can possibly be?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

It's a simple query that we've postulated here, and one we are voting on because Ogre wants to see that a majority of people here would like to have an upgraded/updated chat box/room/whatever on the board before we implement one. I've stated everything I have to say on the subject - there is no need to make this into a big deal. It isn't a big deal. We have a cbox already, so do we want to upgrade it or not?

In 2013 we expressed interest and had enough people 'voting' positively on the subject to have a chat room implemented by Ogre. A few months later the boards were upgraded to a new version and the chat room modification was erased, and was not redone for the upgraded vbulletin. Ogre wants us to vote on it again, so we are.

The yes votes outweigh the no votes right now, even if you don't factor in the "don't really have an opinion" votes, so I think we have an answer already. However the poll is still open for more votes, should there be more people around who wish to take part.

[Captain Untouchable]

Fair enough. :)

For the record - if you'd explained that's what the vote was about in the first place, I would have voted differently. Helps to be clear about what it is you're actually asking. ;)

[Dasquian Belargic]

I think the polls intention was quite straightforward from the first few posts of this thread.

If you'd like your vote changed, we can do that.

[Captain Untouchable]

Well... we've gone from "this is how it will work" to "we haven't figured out how it will work". The firet few posts of the thread present it as getting yays or nays on a specific option, when in reality it's gauging interest, with the specific details to be determined later. I'm not sure that quite qualifies as straightforward?

Not that it matters though - like Holly said, you have an answer already. :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The new chatbox has been added.