The Chat Room

[Robert]

This thread will be used to announce upgrades to the chat room organization and processes, request changes, post meeting times, etc.

The Chat Room is based on a vBulletin hack, vBChat v1.1.1. The original author appears to have abandoned support for the product but others have taken up support and provide updates occasionally. I'll be keeping the Chat Room updated with any enhancements by others that I like. I'll also be making my own changes to the product to provide a better forum for communication. If a better product comes along, and is integrated well with vBulletin then I will upgrade.

Currently, I'm making some updates to the Chat room appearance in preparation for future Chat Room meetings. Meetings will be posted here, or in news & announcements, regarding meeting topic and time. Not sure if we have enough active members yet who can meet at a scheduled time, but we'll give in a try in the next couple of weeks and see how it goes.

--Robert

[Robert]

I made a lot of changes to the chat room today. If you get a chance check it out and let me know what you think. If you report a problem be sure and tell what browser you were using. There are still a few problems, but another day or two and I should have it wrapped up. Then I'll make some kind of announcement about a meeting of some kind where several of us can get together and have a visit.

[Robert]

There was a problem in the chat room where, if you scrolled to the beginning of the chat room conversation, when the page refreshes you are automatically placed at the most recent comment.

I fixed this by adding a new button named View Archive. When pressed the screen will refresh and present you with a day or more of chat talk. You can scroll back and see earlier conversations. In archive mode the refresh feature is disabled so don't need to worry about the text you are reading being pulled out from under you. You will notice that the button text has changed to Live Chat. Click on Live Chat and you are placed at the most recent comment and the refreshes start up again.

[Robert]

I have made the following changes since the last post

1. New link in the navigation bar, Chat Terms, that will list several commonly used chat terms. You can refer to this list when you see abbreviations you don't recognize.
2. New link in the navigation bar, Chat Help, that provides usage information on proper use of the chat room.
3. A Log Out button on every chat page linked to the navigation bar.
4. Added a day of the month indicator for each message.
5. Fixed some stability problems.
6. Some miscellaneous appearance improvements.

The only remaining change I would like to make is to reduce the flicker problem. I've got a good idea how to reduce, but not eliminate, the flicker, and will try and get that working later this week. If you see any other problems, just post them here. Thanks!

[force5]

Thanks Robert......Good work

[Robert]

After working quite diligently for the past 3 days, I have upgraded the base chat room software from version 1.1.1 to version 2.3, and have also added my modifications back into the software. The following changes have been made:

1. The refresh flicker should be less noticeable, especially with Internet Explorer.
2. The users currently in chat room are reformatted.
3. Chat room preferences have been redesigned.
4. Permanent rooms may be created by administrators and Toe Club Members.
5. Member status can be displayed using '/status <your status here>'.
6. The '/exit' command may be used to exit the chat room.
7. Help shows the chat room commands.
8. Many more cosmetic improvements.

I'll continue making keeping the chat room up to date with the latest base version and will continue making usability customizations to improve usability, but at a slower pace. Gotta get some other work done now.