[Forums] Add a chatbox

[Teben]

The old website had a "live chat"/chatbox for all members to use for simple questions or demands such as; admin requests for servers, simple questions, navigation, etc ... which we're currently missing. So the base of this idea is to implement that, again! I feel like it would be beneficial to have an easily accessible chat for all members of the forum to use for their needs and or interests. Not just for essentials, but also for daily "chit-chat" for those of us who enjoy having a chat with both new and familiar faces. For those of you who's currently thinking "Well Teben, why don't you just use Discord?". Well to that I say my dear friend, we don't all use Discord as frequently as you might. Since new members might not be that integrated just yet they'll easier find their way to the chatbox located on the forums rather than the ones on Discord.

Example(?)

Spoiler: Front page

View attachment 4618

Spoiler: Forum page

View attachment 4620

 

[Teben]

It might be hard to forget the clunky dinosaur of a shoutbox we had with vB, but there are much better, simpler, shoutboxes that are available for XF. For example:

That's all it is. Granted, it is €9.99.

Way better than the old one that's for sure. The price is a hinder I guess, although I'd say it's worth the investment, but that's not up to me to decide.

Darthbox! Plus there were super secret eG/eGO level chats where we would taunt the Gs and make fun of ban contests, as is tradition. So I vote for its return.

I also vote for 4g0tt3nSou1 to be forced to play on the eG team in the next dog tag scrim. Preferably for a game he does not own so that team will be short-handed and blame him for their loss.

And I vote in favor of joining @Ledzo in welcoming back Teben . BTW, how much did your laptop cost?

Sold it, cost me about 1.6k, sold it for about 200 USD.

 

[kuantum]

I side with 4g0tt3n, I don't believe chatboxes don't have much to offer in 2021, especially considering those who use it are admins and members who just mess around in there and are just another avenue for spam. Even before XenForo, I couldn't remember a time I really used the shoutbox in any sort of official capacity or in a light-hearted scenario. For most days, it had maybe 5-10 messages in there.

I'm not going to say we really shouldn't have one, because clearly, the community thinks differently than I do. I just wouldn't justify spending $10 on a plugin that's rarely used and gets tedious after a while.

 

[Teben]

I side with 4g0tt3n, I don't believe chatboxes don't have much to offer in 2021, especially considering those who use it are admins and members who just mess around in there and are just another avenue for spam. Even before XenForo, I couldn't remember a time I really used the shoutbox in any sort of official capacity or in a light-hearted scenario. For most days, it had maybe 5-10 messages in there.

I'm not going to say we really shouldn't have one, because clearly, the community thinks differently than I do. I just wouldn't justify spending $10 on a plugin that's rarely used and gets tedious after a while.

I see your point, although I don't see how it can be tedious considering it doesn't take up any space that you'd normally use, nor do I see how it will be the root for spam. That'd be like saying the Discord should be removed because people spam the channels there. I don't think there'll be a 100 messages a day, even so 5, but there'll be conversations had, q&a's and much more to be had on some of the days. It's not about having an active conversation around the clock, it's about having a joint platform of communication that can be used for less important stuff that's easily accessible to help intertwine the community together. Functionality can't be "outdated" without something taking its place.

 

[Idol]

Sold it, cost me about 1.6k, sold it for about 200 USD.

Thank you sir. Welcome back!

 

[4g0tt3nSou1]

This seems to have a lot of support, but I still stand behind my original statement.

In my opinion, if it has to be a thing that needs to be added; make it off by default. Here is why:

• This system I guarantee will eventually end up like the old one, with no real activity, and likely with no actual content. While a significant number of people are still lagging behind on their discord game, those who don't use discord within our community likely still use TeamSpeak, where they can do the exact same thing that a chatbox would achieve, and more. As such another system to do this exact thing is really unneeded. I digress
• Any little addons we add should follow this. If you want X plugin added to the side or top, that's great, but it should be up to users to customize their experience than forcing everyone to adhere to someone else's experience.
• you can always have a full page linked in the title bar menu, so having it on every page isn't needed or wanted.
• These should RELAY in discord. You could make it a channel under the help rooms that people can "Subscribe" to via a role react, similar to Event News/etc. Just because we for some reason want this outdated module added; doesn't mean we can't at very least bring it to this era.

I still detest having this added, but at least I can add some constructive input that might at least make it easier to swallow.

 

[Teben]

• This system I guarantee will eventually end up like the old one, with no real activity, and likely with no actual content. While a significant number of people are still lagging behind on their discord game, those who don't use discord within our community likely still use TeamSpeak, where they can do the exact same thing that a chatbox would achieve, and more. As such another system to do this exact thing is really unneeded. I digress

I don't see this as a valid argument, "predicting the future" like this isn't constructive enough.

• Any little addons we add should follow this. If you want X plugin added to the side or top, that's great, but it should be up to users to customize their experience than forcing everyone to adhere to someone else's experience.

Valdig argument, if so then have it automatically set to "ON" and have the option to turn it off in settings could be an option for those who feel like it's "in the way".

• you can always have a full page linked in the title bar menu, so having it on every page isn't needed or wanted.

Not every page supports having the shoutbox, mainly just the front page & forum page. Partially off topic

• These should RELAY in discord. You could make it a channel under the help rooms that people can "Subscribe" to via a role react, similar to Event News/etc. Just because we for some reason want this outdated module added; doesn't mean we can't at very least bring it to this era.

Didn't quite understand what you meant here, although I'll take it as a "Discord > Shotbox". Again it's about accessibility and functionality where not all rely on using Discord nor have it as a preferred way of communicating when it comes to the forums. Let me put it this way:

You join a server from another community, you're a fresh player enjoying your first new experience on the server. You read the rules, you enjoy the gameplay for a couple of hours. Now you see a bunch of people start violating the rules and see there's no admin on. Being the upstanding "gamer" that you are you turn to the community's website for guidance. Now do you A) use the easiest accessible way of reaching out to the admins and members (Shoutbox) or B) start digging for a Discord link to join, link and type in?

If you chose B then I commend you for your bravery, however most people choose to go for option A as it is the easiest and fastest way of getting out your message. I'm sorry if I seem a bit harsh, but I'm trying to understand your point(s) better by decoding your opinions and explaining my views on how to solve your issues with the idea. I always appreciate some constructive criticism, although I appreciate a thematic discussion even more.

 

[Garrett]

Back when we had the old chat box it was mostly inactive and rarely had any use from our members. Apart from the occasional question or spam/banter, it just took up more of my screen then I would personally say it was worth.

Additionally, it likely had its bare-minimum activity because of our lack of discord support, something we want to encourage as much as possible. Overall I believe adding a chatbot is unnecessary when we have a platform like discord that we want to encourage conversations on.

 

[Kaden]

If it could be placed in the right spot (IDK so don't ask me) and didn't look 30 years old I don't see a negative to it.

 

[Jeff7890110]

+1, I actually liked the old chat box, but that just might be me

 

[kuantum]

Didn't quite understand what you meant here

he meant relay chat between the two platforms.

if I post on the shoutbox, that post goes to a channel in the discord and vice versa

 

[EchoFX]

I thought we were making a relatively solid push to get people on Discord anyway, so this would only separate people further by having too many avenues on which to chat in real-time (forums are posts, not real time conversations)

Reminds me of when I had my Dad switch to Google Chrome and he was bugging out about all these issues that don't exist and I told him "You're a senile old man." He had Chrome installed and working within the hour. Ha.

Shoutboxes are outdated. They don't get used beyond spam/banter and if you really want to find an admin for X Y Z reason, Discord is your best place to do that, not a shoutbox on the homepage that almost no admins are going to be watching.

Bottle line: Get Discord. Learn how to use it. It's simplistic and is the best method of communicating. This debate has been beaten to death by now. (Not just by this suggestion) If you can install and play a game, any game - you can use Discord. There's literally no reason not to and it costs nothing.

 

[Teben]

Shoutboxes are outdated. They don't get used beyond spam/banter and if you really want to find an admin for X Y Z reason, Discord is your best place to do that, not a shoutbox on the homepage that almost no admins are going to be watching.

You'd be surprised of the amount of people who actually do check the shoutbox, just because you don't or I do doesn't mean people don't. Not everyone has an active conversation in the shoutbox, but people do read the first few messages, if that happens to be a question or help then people and admins alike will read it...

Bottle line: Get Discord. Learn how to use it. It's simplistic and is the best method of communicating. This debate has been beaten to death by now. (Not just by this suggestion) If you can install and play a game, any game - you can use Discord. There's literally no reason not to and it costs nothing.

Again, as I've mention about a dozen times; It's not about not using nor having Discord installed. I'm not saying Discord isn't the best method for communication. I myself use Discord on a daily basis and love it, it is NOT about which way of communication is better but about availability and accessibility! The first thing a member sees when going to edgegamers.com will be the front page, and on the front page they'll see the FIRST chat to talk in- the shoutbox. There they can easily and quickly sign up, make a request/ask for help and then get back to gaming. If they want to join the Discord then so be it, go ahead, I won't stop you whatsoever! I encourage people to join the Discord. It's not about which platform is better, it's not about creating a new platform to replace Discord. It's about having a platform of communication for simple questions or demands that need attention. I can say from experience that asking for something in Discord takes AGES to get a reply on because almost everyone mutes servers and checks them every so often. The shoutbox can't help but be read as it's literally on the forums where EVERYTHING is happening, and I mean EVERYTHING. So by having this 1-channeled 2x5 shoutbox on the side of the screen we eliminate the slow answers, thread-spamming and help give the active members of the forums a chance to help inexperienced members. I appreciate the input though.

 

[ghost]

i think this shouldn’t be a discord vs shoutbox argument. they’re two completely different things. shoutbox is just a quick thing you can see while on the forums and maybe say a quick hi to people. i just think it’s a cool thing to be there and have quick chats. it’s right on the forums. discord is a completely different thing and a different app and has nothing to do with taking people away from discord and to the shoutbox. it was nice and cute in my opinion. maybe old but i always thought it was nice. quick discussion , allows for people to see what’s going on in a second while just on the forums for a bit