Anyone try weekly user chats?

[ArtG]

Hi,

As part of our strategy to increase user engagement, we are exploring setting up Wednesday evening chats. The idea is to use a group chat to "hang out" live from 5 pm to 8 pm.

Have any of you tried this in the past?

Any recommendations for the best platform to use for this? I can get @Siropu's Chat add-on but not sure if that's real time in the sense of quick updates to the chat window. Unfortunately, the Arrowchat add-on is too expensive for us.

Thanks!

 

[rdn]

This one uses a web socket, so it's real-time

[021] Real time chat

Instant messaging and speed 🚀 These two points are the core of this add-on. The Real time chat uses Long-Polling and Websockets technologies to ensure instant communication, which means that all events in the chat will occur with minimal delay...

xenforo.com

 

[ArtG]

Hey, thanks. Not sure I can add web sockets on a shared hosting package. Will have to ask.

 

[StarArmy]

I used to used Siropu's chat and I really liked it. The main reason I stopped using it was because we migrated chats to Discord (it was kind of forced, in that it was either I started a server or people would start one for my site without me). There's a server resource (e.g. RAM/processor) cost to running it though. It's basically in realtime and I love that it has the theme/style of the forum it's on, one thing I could never get with Discord (which has sucked a lot of life from the forum).

 

[Wildcat Media]

We've had chat capabilities for a few years but nobody wants anything to do with it. Uninstalled.

 

[Dad.]

Realms.tv has a free chat service that integrates with XenForo. Can do quick live events all from the browser, and stream it to your forum and YouTube and other platforms as well.

 

[Siropu]

I can get @Siropu's Chat add-on but not sure if that's real time in the sense of quick updates to the chat window.

It has a setting where you can make it refresh every second but that would be more resource intensive depending on how many users are using it.

My Shoutbox add-on has a "real time" mode which uses a file based approach for better performance.

 

[Ricsca]

I would simply integrate an irc chat with an ifreme so as not to burden the database...
You don't need to keep what users say in a chat.
What is different is if there was an official xf component like ipb's.

 

[Mr Lucky]

We have tried chat (via the Siropu free addon)

We goy a flurry of people at first, then it all fizzled out.

You also have to take into account that even if the chat is successful, it could be taking away from posts on the forum which is way more useful as you have a proper history and this can help encourage new users.

 

[ArtG]

Thanks, everyone. I put it out to the community to see if there's real interest in this.

 

[Suzanne O]

I don't but i'm considering it.

 

[Wildcat Media]

You also have to take into account that even if the chat is successful, it could be taking away from posts on the forum which is way more useful as you have a proper history and this can help encourage new users.

I was thinking of doing a weekly feature (basically a "listening party") but even there, we have visitors from many different time zones and participation might not be as steady since not everyone can make time to attend. If I planned it for 8pm in my time zone, that's 5pm on the other side of the country, when many are still commuting home from work. If I planned it for 10pm, some of our older members have probably already toddled off to bed. (I don't toddle off to bed--I just fall asleep in my computer chair...)

 

[ArtG]

I was thinking of doing a weekly feature (basically a "listening party") but even there, we have visitors from many different time zones and participation might not be as steady since not everyone can make time to attend. If I planned it for 8pm in my time zone, that's 5pm on the other side of the country, when many are still commuting home from work. If I planned it for 10pm, some of our older members have probably already toddled off to bed. (I don't toddle off to bed--I just fall asleep in my computer chair...)

This is also a problem for me. I've also thought of weekends to try and manage this but few people want to spend time inside on a weekend so there isn't much interest.

 

[Suzanne O]

This is also a problem for me. I've also thought of weekends to try and manage this but few people want to spend time inside on a weekend so there isn't much interest.

Do it as a Q & A and answer them on youtube then post your link up on the page once done