I've been thinking lately has HD ever had a Chat Room or Shout Box?

Something that people can just small talk in it, Al thought it might bring little problems here and there like people posting in it by spam ads and asking question instead of posting, Do you think it would be fun to have one? The site seems quiet without one I guess I've been on a forum that has a SB for to long Im just not use to it.

it could be an interesting addition id say though id agree that there would be a very big policing issue as far as ensuring it is not full of spam/bots etc.

Though vast number of people do use msn, yahoo, myspace, twitter (loosly) to chat

Shout boxes reduce topics and posts on the forum as people get used to using the shout box. I think till the forum get more active people then a shout box would not be a good idea...I have seen shout boxes kill lots of forums.

That is pretty much exactly my way of thinking as well.

Don't get me wrong, I think chat has its benefits, and small talk is fine, as long as its in the appropriate forums, but the priority for us is to attract a mature web hosting crowd and create/delivery quality discussions. I have never in my life seen anything of quality or value posted in forum shoutboxes.

I have never seen a decent shoutbox that worked and worked without any issues (ie: severe headaches for the admins). I do not see a big issue with forum sites needing a chat either, I might be stuck up, but I am still old school - forums are forums for a reason.

Never been in a shoutbox, so no background to pull from - but it sounds chaotic.

Yea, I do think we should now wait for a while or for get about it, It will bring problems.

I think a chat room is great though for that. Some people need quick help and they just come and ask. I think shoutbox are called "spam box" a chat room will be great for anyone who need urgent decisions to make . Also it's great for the active people here. The only thing you have to shutdown in a chat room is the advertisement.

And how do we do that?

I think that if someone needs quick help, they can always start a thread. It adds to forum activity and creates a platform where someone with a similar question can find an answer in.

Have you looked around for chat softwares that would allow them to be in bedded into your site? I know that C3 Chat works for those using SMF but I am not sure about this site.

You have chat Mods in the chat room. Also i can understand where you coming from with the activity of the forum , but a chat room won't take the forum posting away. Also a chat is good for active users. I know a domain name forum where they live like domain name auctions in the chat rooms, Christmas parties and all that. To be honest it's kind of fun and it can attract more users.

Yes I know a couple of products that can be embedded into any site.

I will give it some further thought, but quite honestly, I don't think it is something that will be in the works in the near future. I can certainly see the benefits of a chat during a live auction, but there is not much to auction off here. A party-like content would also not be adding any value to the resourcefulness of the site. There is a reason why the most popular web hosting forum on the Internet canned their chat - it was dead most of the time and took a lot more time to manage. Mods had to literally not take their eyes off the screen to make sure no inappropriate content/behavior is taking place.

You may not think it will bring down post activity but the truth is it will...Unless HD has 10k active people a shoutbox will ruin the forum.

True to be honest i don't even like the idea of our shoutbox unless its on a social network sites.

Not a fan of chat. To many issues can arise. The only chat is for support within the company....nothing for users to join and chat about nothing. Use the forum. It has a history for members to search for a solution instead of asking the question in chat over & over.