Most of us have some sort of chat option on our own websites, either a cbox or a shoutbox. Why doesn't RPG-D? I was just curious.

It's in the FAQ:

http://rpg-directory.com/index.php?showtopic=1560

Read the posted threads. ;)

Ahh, yes. I've read that before >.<
There is an option of putting a cbox in a protected thread though, where it couldn't be accessed by guests. They do that on SkinIt, but I haven't seen it anywhere else.

Oh well.

They do it on *link removed* as well.

Having a c-box in a thread seems a little redundant to me. Why not just post in the thread? Personally, I've never cared for c-boxes either way.

I use one on I&E and I have it set so that people have to register to post in it. Shoutmix even has the option of only allowing admin approved accounts to post, which means the staff here can control who uses it. There could be a system or something where established members of RPGD can sigh up to have the admins here make them a cbox account. That way its use is regulated.

thats just my two cents. :]

Well, RPG-D has a ton of lurkers, and a ton of people who'll make a post in the welcome thread but then kind of fade away rather than getting involved in our deep intellectual discussions or angry rants. And having a cbox in a thread seemed kind of redundant to me too, but in a cbox or shoutbox, you can just say 'Sup' and no one will jump on you for being pointless or making a thread for spam. Sometimes all you want to talk about it is how you are and sometimes when I get online I'd rather just talk to someone about their day and exchange meaningless small talk via a chatbox than write a long post about how my brain works and why someone's site doesn't have a lot of members.

Wow, that got kind of repetitive and long-winded. Feel free to ignore ^_^

Additional, actually productive to this conversation note: I understand not having a chatbox if it's a personal preference by the admin. That's all well and good. I just noticed that most of the staff here, including ShinLi, have some sort of chat on their board, hence my curiosity. It's really not a big deal, though.

Ha, I got one on TU, but that is because it's a build in mod that you can install via the ACP of IPBfree, it's a lot saver.

A cbox/shoutbox in a thread doesn't seem obvious to me. If we do have a cbox/shoutbox, I also want it to be accessible by guests, so they can jump into the talk to, or just say hi, what's up. But then again, it can easily get abused. So I'd rather have something where you have to register with.

I've also been thinking about adding a chatroom when we still had our own hosting. But we don't have that anymore. I like a chatroom much better because it's a tad more personal then a cbox/shoutbox and more 'real time' I suppose.

I do think it's worth taking this into the staff room and see what we can get up with. It seems quite some members like to see a cbox here of some sorts, so we'll have to see what options we might have. And what could be used here on RPG-D. But of course, I don't want to comprimise RPG-D's security. I don't want to see RPG-D hacked because we installed a cbox or anythin, I would die I think XD.

Anyway, I'll take it up with the other staffers and see what we'll come up with.

Thanks for all the comments and insights ^^.

Here is a link to a Memebrs Only Shoutbox for those interested. :)