Cbox Recommendations anyone?

[Mixed]

Hello!

I'm looking at revamping my site a little bit and I thought a good addition would be a Cbox replacement of my default Shoutbox. The shoutbox has served well thus far, but I thought it would be better to include a Cbox so that it would be more mobile-friendly with its own URL. With it, I could keep in touch with members and guests better. The problem is I am currently the only staff and there are not enough members to warrant the need for another staff member yet. It's a problem because I often miss a guest with a question or simply a guest checking out the forum until I can get back onto my laptop (the shoutbox is not mobile friendly). At least with a Cbox, I'll have a higher chance of catching people rather than let them feel its been abandoned or unfriendly.

Okay, that was more ramble-y than I had meant.

The point: Is there a Cbox anyone here would recommend over others? Free would be best for now but I'm open to hearing about others in the case of an upgraded version.

Please and thank you.

[Star's Legacy]

Mixed,

[Mixed]

Thank you, Star's Legacy!

That's the one I've seen the most too (I think). Do you use the free version? I heard there was a paid one too and I'd like to hear and try the free version first since I'm not sure about how much it'll be used. I'll likely upgrade later.

[Star's Legacy]

Mixed,
I had used the free one for quite awhile before I upgraded to the paid. Really the only difference I had or wanted with paying is that you can register your name and you can style how the member groups display. Also the first paid option is pretty cheap if they have the options you are looking for. ^^

[Mixed]

Sounds like that would work for me for sure. Thank you, Star's Legacy.

Do you think I could ask you some questions if I have trouble with setting it up?

[Star's Legacy]

Mixed,

[Mixed]

Thank you!

[Nori]

I know you've already decided on this but thought I'd throw in my two cents:

From my understanding the free Cbox does not have auto-updating; you have to hit the 'refresh' button or refresh your page in order to see a new chat message. That is the only reason I never used it until recently as I didn't want to pay for a Cbox until I was sure the site had enough loyal members to warrant spending money on it. With any paid version (which is pretty cheap and super worth it as it also includes CSS customization) you get the auto updating messages. There is a hardcore paid version with multi-threading for hosting different chat rooms that is way more expensive but you don't need that.


Another alternative is Chatango, which is free & has auto updating without paying. It also has some great customization options and you can set whether you want non-registrees to be able to post on it or not. But... my complaints with it are: 1) It never saves the customization when you go back into to the editor; was always easier to just straight edit the code yourself. 2) It likes to disconnect on a semi-regular basis. I ended up switching to a paid Cbox due to this. 3) There are some creepy people lookin' to hook up with you that will just randomly PM you through Chatango's service. Especially if you're female. This is easily avoided if you go into your settings and remove yourself from their directory, but for someone who isn't familiar with Chatango they may not know and having any of your members getting off-putting messages in the background isn't very good.


I have also seen Chatroll as a free auto-updating alternative but personally I have little experience and personally wasn't a fan of the style.

[Mixed]

An extra two cents is always good, Nori.

You make a good point. I do like the auto-updating and the seemingly new "xxx is typing". However, like you, I want to be sure I have enough of a loyal member-base to warrant the money, especially considering I am between jobs and the forums are a stress-reliever for me. No, I agree that I wouldn't need the multi-threading.

Thank you for the tips on Chatango. I had encountered this one but wasn't sure about the comparisons with others; hence, my thread here. Your complaints numbered 2 and 3 seem like the biggest reasons for me not to use Chatango. Is this service also the one that stops a temporary name from chatting after a certain length of time? I came across this trouble once but forget the platform host for the chat room.

Is the Cbox through cbox.ws also customizable? At least enough to not clash horribly with the forum theme.


Never heard of Chatroll. Has anyone here used it?


Thank you, Nori, for your thoughts. You're always a help and it's always a pleasure.