I am non techo in the area of computers generally and forums in particular, but I have occaisionally thought it would be handy if there was a space and process set up to talk (type) directly with other registered self sufficientishers when you see that they are browsing the forum.
As I say, I don't know how easy or hard this is.....do any of the others think the same?
To be perfectly honest I am not sure how to set it up. I am in the process of changing the whole site so that the forum is intergrated with the main pages. In this process I might be able to set up a chat room, I am a bit reluctant to though as I am not sure how much bandwidth it will take up.
It might mean that I will have to fork out for more server space if I set it up, will look into it though. What you can do for now is set up an icq, aol messenger or a yahoo messenger account and speak to people through those. Underneath the messages that people post should be boxes with icqm ymsg or whatever written on them. Click on them if people have them and chat away. If not then send them a pm (private messsage) and ask if they can set one up or whatever.
Did not really anwser your question but I hope that helps.
Andy, I came across this site with lots of free applets to download, including chat, though not sure how it could be incorporated http://www.bravenet.com/
Might have to do it through the main page, not sure.
Remeber now Neil saying First we sow......Thanks for putting me out of my misery.
Yep cheers Judy, our old message forum was through Bravenet. The trouble is they are full of pop ups and you also have to have your stuff hosted on their site.
But thanks for the suggestion though.
You know you are the first to ask about my signature, there must be a few people kicking themselves.
A big problem with chat clients is that they lose all the benefits of posts in a forum. People are attracted to forums they see as active. If members are chatting and not posting, then a forum may look dead and put off potential members.
It might mean that I will have to fork out for more server space if I set it up, will look into it though. What you can do for now is set up an icq, aol messenger or a yahoo messenger account and speak to people through those. Underneath the messages that people post should be boxes with icqm ymsg or whatever written on them. Click on them if people have them and chat away. If not then send them a pm (private messsage) and ask if they can set one up or whatever.
Did not really anwser your question but I hope that helps.
Why not try the IRC route ? It won't cost you then for hosting.
Have a look at something like http://freenode.net/ where projects can
register a 'channel' or forum space for discussion.
I don't think there's anything that beats IRC for instant messaging. I've never taken to MSN or any of the other commercial type of systems that have evolved over the last ten years. IRC is simple and effective and does the trick, in my book.
KInd of requires poeple to download a chat client i'd guess.
At least with the forum based ones, users can click and be in. This is an essentail for the non technically inclined.
I found this free chat applet, which does not require anyone joining, other than just putting in a na,e for the session. It has no annoying flashing banners and only one little logo. However it is javascript, and causes a warning notice when someone with medium or higher security setting log on, so I moved it to a page of its ow. You can check it out here, and maybe have a chat to test if someone is on? http://www.judyofthewoods.com/chat.html
Tools are neutral, I think chat rooms have had a bad press because of abuse.
Well tried it out and it seems to take ages to load up, not sure if this is thing with my mac as java applets always seem to take a while to load.
And yep chat rooms do have a bad press I remember a while back some of them decided to close down because they were being missused. I think MSN closed down there chat room or something. I think I agree with Emma a bit on this one but I would not be quite so harsh. I checked out chat rooms when they were really popular a few years back and it was full of teenagers trying to pull each other. It was pretty vile some of the things that were said. I say not 'so harsh' as this is only my experience of two chat rooms I am sure they are not all like that.
And Jema asl is Age Sex and location and is what is asked on chat rooms to new users.
You are right, java is a pain, which is why I relegated the chatroom to its own page, not to slow down loading for people who have no interest in that side. Though once loaded the chat is quicker than loading pages on the forum, but should only be used for quick exchanges, as the downside is, as mentioned before somewhere, the info is lost. I think the problem with abuse and loads of spotty teenagers using them to pull (not to mention the 45 year old men in macs - not 'on' macs - trying to pull), is one more likely encountered on open chatrooms. Anyone getting through to a dedicated one like on a forum or website, would more likely be the same sort of person posting on the forum, though not sure if free chatroooms like mine are possibly advertised on the hosts list of rooms. Anyway, there are some pros and certainly some cons, I'm only keeping mine in the background where it doesn't interfere, but can be used if someone wants to. Its still early days, and if I find it getting abused or not used at all, I will pull the plug. No sweat for a freeby.
