addonChat - Ever use it?

Mayers

Member
I was wondering if anyone has ever installed and used addonChat on their sites before? I was thinking about getting but wanted some feedback on it. I currently use IRC but have been looking at this as a alternative.

Do your members find it easy to use?

Is it worth the $80?

Ever have any issues with it?

Any feedback would be great :).

- Marc
 
IRC servers are free
IRC clients are free
IRC widgets are free
IRC integration with forum software is free

So $80 is expensive. And it's java. Two reasons not to get it.

And IRC has worked for decades.
 
Not everyone can use IRC.

Most of my members wouldn't have a clue how to change their nick so it would be a room full of guest/anonymous users.
 
Not everyone can use IRC.

Most of my members wouldn't have a clue how to change their nick so it would be a room full of guest/anonymous users.

How is addonChat any different?
If they can't even change a nickname in the nickname field, how are you expecting them to press the "yes, I understand the security risk of Java, run this applet client side on my computer" button when it initializes ..
 
Not everyone can use IRC.

Most of my members wouldn't have a clue how to change their nick so it would be a room full of guest/anonymous users.

There's always a learning curve no matter what product/program/add-on you use. Changing your nick in irc is as simple as any other chat module. Put up a guide with the chanserv and nickserv commands and your good to go and learning the novice of users at the same time.
 
That's why I use a fully integrated, free chat solution ;)

I have no doubt that there will be several designed for XF so save your money OP.

http://vbirc.com/chat

That's what we use, run, operate and support.

javascript in the browser, integrated with xenforo and vBulletin, free, lightweight, and easy to use.
 
There's always a learning curve no matter what product/program/add-on you use. Changing your nick in irc is as simple as any other chat module. Put up a guide with the chanserv and nickserv commands and your good to go and learning the novice of users at the same time.

We've even created aliasses, such as /register yourpasshere and /identify yourpasshere
which are .. optional, ppl can easily chat without signing up or in.
 
I was wondering if anyone has ever installed and used addonChat on their sites before? I was thinking about getting but wanted some feedback on it. I currently use IRC but have been looking at this as a alternative.

Do your members find it easy to use?

Is it worth the $80?

Ever have any issues with it?

Any feedback would be great :).

- Marc

Honestly, if you're looking for a chat that can be great for mods to kick/ban annoying and immature users while having a fairly user-friendly chat, it's not all that bad. It works perfectly for one of the forums I mod for those reason exactly. It's more staff-friendly over flashchat by far. But cost-wise, I'd have to say go to IRC.
 
Changing your nick in irc is as simple as any other chat module.
Not if the chat is integrated to the users table in the forum.
As soon as they log in to the site they are logged in to chat with the same username.
Plus it gives forum moderators the ability to delete chats just as they can with forum posts.

The main drawback of IRC though is it in no way looks anything like the site it is tacked on to.

I understand why people use IRC but it's not for me or my users.
 
You can use one regex line to clean up the xf.username to be suitable for irc and give it to mibbit, and auto connect.
 
I've been using addonchat for a few years and it's worked out great for me.

My members love it. We used to use IRC and they found it too confusing. It also helps out A LOT on the administration end of things. If you integrate AC with your forum (I put up a link to XF over there so I hope they will develop an integration file shortly, they're usually pretty good about that though) you can set up specific group permissions for each usergroup. So, if you ban someone on your forum, they are automatically banned from the chatroom and can not simply IP dodge to get in. This is an example of integration with forum software.

Also, you can style the chatroom to your liking with a really easy point and click interface, which was a big plus for me. Overall, for me, it's been much easier to manage, and my users have enjoyed it a lot more than IRC. If you don't have a tech savvy audience or would rather not deal with IRC, addonchat or a similar solution to addonchat may be the way to go. Addonchat, however, is the cheapest around I've found with their level of quality.
 
I use addonchat and I love it versus most other chatrooms.

I don't pay yearly...I do it monthly....15 bucks a month is a great deal with all the features it offers.

Get the enterprise version - it includes database integration.
 
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