The Chat Box/Shout Box/TagBoard

[xarin42]

I think that how useful a shout box would be on the main page varies on the size and theme of the forum. for example, I tend to visit role play forums since I like doing the text based role plays, and on there they can be used for quick thoughts on plot and the like, besides their uses for helping to tighten the community(since in that sort of forum it is important due to trust issues involved in much of the role playing). on the other hand if it's a support forum, or some other general forum then as mentioned above it is likely to get in the way of getting new members and lowering activity on the forum itself. and if a forum community becomes too big, no matter what kind of your board is for you are highly likely to get spammers, trolls, flammers, and the like. my thoughts on the matter is that it would be best if A: you had to use your login for that forum in order to get on the chat/shout box both for moderator purposes and member/activity purposes and B: making it entirely optional whether of not you have one, like the current chat box is. but to be honest I would like the option of a shout box at the top of the page that doesn't automatically log me out after so-in-so amount of time being inactive since I try to stay on there in case any members of my forum happen to come on while I'm awake and on my computer.

[★Hunter★]

Hmm, I'm half-half on this debate. CBox's, SBox's and TagBoard's in my opinion do take away some activity on the site, but it also is a great source to meet new people and communicate with people. Only problem I see with them at the moment is that maybe ProBoards could invest in a Spam Scanner of some sort which blocks spammers IP's from all sites to prevent Trolls and the like.

[kpatch]

Hi everyone. Looking for some information and ideas.

Is a Chat Box the same thing as "Live Chat"? I see that option in the Admin area. And can someone post a link to an example of what a Live Chat box looks like in action? I'm debating whether to use this feature. We have a Random Thoughts section, but some people seem to be interested in more of a post and run feature.

[†Mason Fett†]

Chat boxes are okay, they get annoying though cause then you're stuck on the main screen and risk missing parts of the conversations at hand if you navigate away.

[whisker]

I haven't been able to read all the pages of this thread , and hope I am not breaking the train of thought.

I just wanted to ask if any of you have had the Charles Stover shoutbox. I loved that, but don't seem to be able to get it now. We have the Say Box now, but I don't like it as much, and it doesn't seem to be used as much on the forum. Any comments? Thank you.

[; ; FALCON]

@ Whisker
Try using something called C-box (type it in on your browser search) Its very simple and has an easy setup ^^ I use it a lot. Hope I helped!

- - -

Personally I love chat boxes. This way its easy to chat / communicate with other members. On rolepay forums it helps a lot because guests can ask questions, members can talk if they want to "rp" there characters and what not. Though through looking at forums I seem to see that the "inactive" chat boxes or the "Not pretty" ones seem to drive members away. So I simply stick to a more simple one, and I tend not to use ones that require E-mail, password, username etc.

[kpatch]

Can you post a link to a forum that has one so I can see how it looks/works?

[whisker]

Aug 24, 2012 16:34:43 GMT -8 ; ; FALCON said:

@ Whisker
Try using something called C-box (type it in on your browser search) Its very simple and has an easy setup ^^ I use it a lot. Hope I helped!

- - -

Personally I love chat boxes. This way its easy to chat / communicate with other members. On rolepay forums it helps a lot because guests can ask questions, members can talk if they want to "rp" there characters and what not. Though through looking at forums I seem to see that the "inactive" chat boxes or the "Not pretty" ones seem to drive members away. So I simply stick to a more simple one, and I tend not to use ones that require E-mail, password, username etc.

Very helpful, FALCON! Will try that!

Unfortunately I have deleted the Charles Stover Shoutbox off our old forum, so I can't show an example. It was not possible to transfer it over to our new forum as the previous forum had had a different owner, who probable had signed up for the original.

It was like as you say, you could just post on it without passwords etc and you could choose the colour of each individual post. Will try Googling one. ;D

Here is an article which focuses on the history of his shoutbox - towards the end. He now runs Gaming Medley, it seems. Have failed to find a copy of the shoutbox.

www.gamingmedley.com/about.html

If anyone can direct me to Charles Stover's shoutbox, I would appreciate it. Thanks again, FALCON! ;D

[mrs vindecco]

I am really considering getting a chat box for my forum, but am not 100% sure. Having read a couple of messages I am worried about trolls. Is it possible to for an admin to delete any horrible messages or is it a case of what is written remains there? I'm guessing not, but I have visited boards as a guest where the admin clearly states that all messages on cbox are monitored so therefore should be no spam etc. So would they be paying for that service or are they just hoping it warns certain people off.

kpatch if you google shoutboc or chatbox, most of their websites have a box as a sample.

[whisker]

We have Saybox, which I think is recommended by Proboards. So far no spam! The person who signs up for it originally, most likely an Admin of your forum, has the ability to go into the account and delete or edit stuff, change color etc. You sign up with a user name and password, which you can use to get into the account and make changes.

[whisker]

Believe it or not, I found the Charles Stover shoutbox that I was looking for! It was there in the Admin section all the time in the bottom left-hand corner, waiting to be activated! It is free, though can be upgraded at a price, completely integrates with your skin color scheme and can be modified in several ways. What I like about it is, it's instant, no searching for passwords etc and you can choose the color of your entries.

It can be seen in action on Home Page of our site. Click on logo below.

PS - I've just noticed this site has a very nice version of this Chatlog by Charles Stover

interoceandesigns.com/index.cgi

;D

[criss]

mmm Interesting read....Our Shoutbox stopped for working for whatever reason, and we missed it even myself as Admin...missed it, I love saying Hi to my Members, and guests, and joke around etc...it doesn't detract at all from posting on the Forum, as there are plenty of Topics of interest...It also helps new Members to find their feet, by saying hi to others first, and getting used to the other regular Shoutbox users replying....It works for us....

[criss]

Aug 24, 2012 4:56:17 GMT -8 whisker said:

I haven't been able to read all the pages of this thread , and hope I am not breaking the train of thought.

I just wanted to ask if any of you have had the Charles Stover shoutbox. I loved that, but don't seem to be able to get it now. We have the Say Box now, but I don't like it as much, and it doesn't seem to be used as much on the forum. Any comments? Thank you.

I have installed Saybox previously...and do not like it at all...

My preference is My Shoutbox....it's easy customizable, lots of different colour combinations and decent smileys...Hope this helps..

[whisker]

We tried the saybox for some time - but did n ot like it very much. After I found the Charles Stover Chatlog, we used that. Instead of having it on Home Page, we have it inside on a Drop-In board. It works very well there, and it is not intrusive. I'm not sure If I like the Betazone one on Home Page.

[Ravendolphin]

It depends. Sometimes  chatboxes do take away the activity of the forum. No one would be posting on the forum as much and would only come to the forum just for the chatbox. It would be good for quick little conversations such as saying "hi" or "I have to leave for vacation- I'll be back soon." It can be good for chating when you are one of two people on the forum while everyone else was not logged in yet.