The Chat Box/Shout Box/TagBoard

[chrisbarker]

Actually i was just wondering how to get one i have a friend with a site and they have it comes in handy for guests and users to talk without having to join a topic discussion

[♥ ℒʊ√ ♥]

Shoutboxes are a built in feature in v5. 

[PF]

Mar 7, 2007 14:46:19 GMT -8 Enchant said:

I got this idea from a rate I read by one of you members and thought it would be a good topic of discussion.

You see them on many forums on top or down below the boards. You see them in the boards or on a page by them selves.You see them everywhere and a good population of members use them. I am talking about Chat Box/ Shout Box/TagBoard . I know there are those who feel that the members should be interacting on the boards, and if they are on the chatbox, then what is the point of the forum.

The question is, Do you think that Chat Box/ Shout Box/TagBoard take away from the activity of a forum?


I personally have a chat box. I use it so that myself, members and onlookers can communicate free of stricter rules. I like the idea of guest being able to ask questions without the obligation of feeling like they HAVE TO join...I also like to goof around with the next person so it is cool to let guest see that we have fun and perhaps encourage them to be interested in joining. I have more pros then cons for my forum personally...but I know that there are those who oppose them.

What are your thoughts and experiences?

The shoutbox on my forum, Heeeeey's Cafe, is sort of popular, more so than the Live Chat box I just put up that no one has used yet. I think they're a good idea to draw people in to maybe register to post on the boards also.





 

[Mandoli]

I have the shoutbox up on my forum, but it actually hasn't drawn attention away from the forum. Mostly, it's for important messages that aren't topic worthy - and to give hints towards updates with the rules.

I've had to make a rule that one can't use the shoutbox to post updates on their game threads. Other than that, I don't really have a set guideline on the overall content on what gets posted in there. Except for the PG-13 rating.

[Teg]

I'm using a chat box currently, but from experience on other forums people tend to use them more than posting on the forums and I don't like that. So we will see how it goes. I think that is the biggest downfall for some forums is having the shout box available.

[Cuethelaugh]

We have a cbox and ages ago I was once concerned that it'd take away from the forum.

I think it depends on who you have admin-ing the site. I find that having a cbox actually increases roleplay on our forum (because you know people are actually online to play with) but I know of other sites who uses their cbox 100 times a day by a number of people and maybe there's like 1-3 posts on their site from maybe 1 of them (if not shared between 2). That's when I feel like they become distracting and the admins aren't doing the best job of keeping their site active for the general purpose it was created for. People lead by example and as an admin you should be a good one.

[Mid]

My forum has a chatbox, and in all honesty, I don't think it takes away from the forum itself very much, but this is a roleplay forum I'm talking about. It helps us to make friends and get to know the people we're roleplaying with and there is a lot of plotting and sometimes a forum-wide decision goes on between myself and the people currently in the chatbox. We have at least 20 frequenters of the chat (not all at once, of course) and many, many members who have never used it, so there's a pretty decent mix there.

[The girl who waited]

I prefer Cbox to the PB shoutbox; it's more customizble, IMO. I haven't noticed one way or other; I suppose that I could find stats if I wanted. As long as an admin or mod is present to make sure that it's not spammed, I find them great, because I can drop a note to a member in a different time zone, etc.

[The Maniac On Wheels (The MOW)]

I'm thinking of opening my forum's shoutbox for special occassions like the Oscars, the World Series and other televised events for members to talk live as they watch.

I got a poll for the members to vote on if it's a good idea, but only 2 (myself included) of 66 members have voted -- and it closes on Wednesdays.

[imagineer]

All I have for Chat Box/ Shout Box/TagBoard are pros. I feel they add to a forum.

I am on one particular RPG forum where we use the Cbox all the time, and it is sooooooo convenient having it.

If we are online at the same time we chat live about our plots, threads and characters.
It makes communicating about that stuff so much faster, and if we need to send each other a long message we just use the Cbox to say “hey, I have sent you a PM”. We also use it to tag each other if we are online at the same time, not to mention we have a lot of fun on it joking about with each other too

I think it adds to activity on the forum rather than taking away from it, this one particular forum I am on anyway, because If I am the only one online I will post (if it is my turn) then I will leave.
But if another user is online I will post and then tag them, and I will stay online and wait for their reply, then I will post again, etc, etc.
Sometimes we stay online for hours and hours talking on the Cbox as we take turns writing our In Character posts and tag each other back and forth.

It is also a good way to show guests that the site is active.
It also gives guests a good opportunity to ask a question or whatever without having to register (when the chances are that they will never come back if the forum is not what they want).

When I look on forums, I look at the date stamps on the threads to see if the site is active, but I always check the Cbox/ shoutbox too.
In fact I have joined a couple of forums myself over the years because I was able to post a quick message in the forum’s Cbox and find out what I wanted to know, without having to waist my time register just to ask one little question.
Or because I was able to post something like “Is this site still active?” and then get a reply saying “yes it is” etc.

I personally can not think of a down side for a Chat Box/ Shout Box/TagBoard, not for RPG forums anyway.

There might be a down side for Chat Forums though, if members are posting in the Chat Box/ Shout Box instead of posting in any of the threads.

And depending on the activity of the Chat Forum there might also be a risk of too many members using it at the same time and getting crossed conversations that can get confusing.

But like I said, right now I can’t think of any cons for having a Chat Box/ Shout Box/TagBoard on an RPG forum...Well, unless people break the rules set out for the Chat Box/ Shout Box/TagBoard of course.

[The Maniac On Wheels (The MOW)]

I have noticed more activity in the shoutbox than the forums which have a shoutbox.

I haven't activated my forum's shoutbox, but I did briefly for live televised events like the Oscars and championship games in pro sports. It didn't help me get some activity though.