will.vend Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 I would like to see an Instant Messenger available on Vendiscuss. Sometimes I chat with people and we hafta go back and forth sending pm's. It would be alot easier and I think it would make this site stand apart from all other vending forum's, (it already does IMO) so let's put it to a vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 I'd use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinnJinn Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 That would be a really nice feature to have! One problem I have seen on other forums with chat was they had a lot of bandwidth issues. ie, going over their allotment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 Im not sure how it would work...I guess it has to be something seperate from this site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinnJinn Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Im sure the boss or HER assistant will be along sometime and let us know or at least check into it. ;D (no, it doesn't take much at all to amuse myself) :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBiz Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 You could always add your current chat screen names to your profile if you want people to be able to IM you. Just a thought and now I will go take my own advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinnJinn Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 I thought about that, but then, scraped the idea due to having to sign in and put up with all the spam bots im'ing you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizugori Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 i think chat/IM on the site is a bad idea. however, many forums allow you to add your aol, msn, yahoo, etc screen names to your profile. if you fill in a name for any of those, it adds a button to your profile so people can IM you (so if you click on the yahoo button and you're running yahoo messenger, it automatically opens a new IM to that user. I would use that - I'm generally on aol and msn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Im sure the boss or HER assistant will be along sometime and let us know or at least check into it. Stay tuned........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 Stay tuned........... is mama happy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 A fully integrated instant message feature is something I've wanted to implement here for a long time. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find anything useful. We once had a chat room but it was rarely used, public and quite cumbersome. What I had in mind was an IM system based on the IM feature found on Facebook. One that automatically logs you into the IM when you are logged in to the forum. I also like the fact that it is inconspicuous in nature. If you are familiar with Facebook, you know where the IM is but it doesn't get in your way or hinder the performance of the site in anyway. I am happy to say that I now have access to the type of framework that powers IM on facebook and am ready to integrate it into VENDiscuss. However, my number one concern about IM is how it will affect the forum postings. After all, the posts to the open forum are what makes VENDiscuss what it is. I have discussed this dilemma with the boss lady and she seems to think it will have little or no adverse effect. She thinks that people with questions would want as many answers as possible. Only a post to the open forum would accomplish that. Also, members with good news would want to share with everyone. Only a post would do that as well. Is she right, (as usual)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 A fully integrated instant message feature is something I've wanted to implement here for a long time. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find anything useful. I am happy to say that I now have access to the type of framework that powers IM on facebook and am ready to integrate it into VENDiscuss. However, my number one concern about IM is how it will affect the forum postings. After all, the posts to the open forum are what makes VENDiscuss what it is. I have discussed this dilemma with the boss lady and she seems to think it will have little or no adverse effect. She thinks that people with questions would want as many answers as possible. Only a post to the open forum would accomplish that. Also, members with good news would want to share with everyone. Only a post would do that as well. Is she right, (as usual)? The reason I think an IM would be useful is when you want to chat in private about sensitive things. things that you would not post on the open forum, conversations that are already happening with the pm feature. Im sure we would all be surprised at the amount of personal messages being sent now, and it hasnt hurt the forum. items that are listed on here for sale would probably sell better because of the feature. But, in reality there is that chance that it could hurt the open forum. Im thinking not! So Im with the Boss! because if she aint happy nobodys happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinnJinn Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 The reason I think an IM would be useful is when you want to chat in private about sensitive things. things that you would not post on the open forum, conversations that are already happening with the pm feature. Im sure we would all be surprised at the amount of personal messages being sent now, and it hasnt hurt the forum. items that are listed on here for sale would probably sell better because of the feature. But, in reality there is that chance that it could hurt the open forum. Im thinking not! So Im with the Boss! because if she aint happy nobodys happy I must say, I agree with every word you have said. But yet, the "guy with the tie", brings up a good point! "would it hurt the forum as far as posts?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Profits Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 One problem I have seen on other forums with chat was they had a lot of bandwidth issues. ie, going over their allotment. Let's say you have an animated banner that was 150k. You'd have to chat all day long, for a week, in order to chat over 150k in bandwidth. How many page views does each Vendiscuss surfer fetch from the server every day? Probably over 20. I'm going to guess the weight of each page is north of 400k. There's no way a chat interface would even add a blip on the server stats for bandwidth utilization. And an easier method for doing chat would be a P2P-type system that would utilize only the bandwidth of the surfer's connections. What you may have heard, and what would perhaps be more realistic, is (possibly) heavy CPU load from the chat engine. But BW is cheap these days, so cheap it's practically free. I have 200gb transfer per month on one of my hosting accounts and it costs me $50 / month. You can have a dedicated server with a relatively fat pipe for a few hundred a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinnJinn Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Thanks for informing me Profits. The chats I was referring to were like 4-5 years ago. I didn't realize how much bandwidth has gone down in price. Plus, there were enough members online that even with 15lines showing you often had to scroll to catch everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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