I've been notified that the chat room service that is part of the board's software is going to be discontinued this spring and before next season starts.

There are some alternatives I can look at purchasing and integrating into the site, but before I do I thought I'd start a dialogue on people's thoughts on the chat room.  

To be clear, I have no issues investing into an alternative if it is a service that people really like and will continue to use. So if you like it and use it, please speak up. 

I don't use it on home games because I am at the game, and my usage on away games has been hit and miss over the last couple of seasons, so curious on other peoples thoughts.  

So some questions for you all to ponder...

Do you want to see the chat room replaced?  

How important is it to you for the game day experience on the site?  

Do you find it to be superior to a "Game Day Thread" to follow the game?

Any other features in the chat room you would find useful or that is lacking in the current version?

Personally, the game day thread works just fine for me. But I can see why those who enjoy the chat room would.

I voted "Yes" before reading the first post. I like the Chat for game day, but never go in there other than that. To me, if the new software or whatever, is in any way cost prohibitive, I wouldn't do it because 18 days out of 365 doesn't seem like enough to warrant it. 

I've always preferred the game day thread over chat, and since chat was introduced the game day thread has become pretty barren. I'd probably use chat more, but I stream the games I'm not attending and suffer a 30 second day delay, making chat nothing but spoilers. I could live without chat.

Cost isn't really an issue for this.  It will probably actually be cheaper in the long run because there has been an additional yearly fee paid for the chat room as it was hosted on IPBoard servers.  That fee will be going away and alternatives I've looked at are not extravagant and a one time fee only.

If it's cheaper....then do 'er. I think there's probably about 20 of us that are regulars....every game....in the chat. On a good day? Like say early in the season...I think we do like 30 or 40 in there sometimes. It's usually a lot of fun...

13 minutes ago, Noeller said:

I voted "Yes" before reading the first post. I like the Chat for game day, but never go in there other than that. To me, if the new software or whatever, is in any way cost prohibitive, I wouldn't do it because 18 days out of 365 doesn't seem like enough to warrant it. 

You actually voted no 

8 minutes ago, Rich said:

You actually voted no 

Lol...sorry..."yes to keep" "no to ditching"

I like the chat room on game days for sure. Game day threads are so lame

1 minute ago, 17to85 said:

I like the chat room on game days for sure. Game day threads are so lame

GDTs tend to be disjointed and out of order...hard to follow.

I voted I dont care, but I have used it. my biggest issue was if theres 50+ ppl in there messages are lagged and theres no real convos going on in there most times.

My bomber forum days began with GDT's and so shall they continue 

that's exactly it. I mean I get why people who are not at their computer during the game may want to go back and read play by play thoughts as it were but I seldom ventured into game day threads cause cause they were hard to read but the chat is great for talking about the game while it's ongoing

The only time I ever use it is the draft.  Maybe if I'm out of the country and not having success finding the game in any other manner.

I've used it a couple of times, but I'd rather just watch the game then read a thread after the fact. 

I've only used it once or twice; however, I've only been with the board for one year.

I would not use it for home games, as I would be there. And I would only use it for late away games, as I would likely be watching with my boys on an earlier game.

EDIT: I should add, I like that type of forum for the instant reactions, picking up on things that I may have missed in the play.

Edited January 23, 20179 yr by JCon

Went with Yes. Only because I know there's lots of people who do enjoy the live game day chat 

Personally the live chat during the game is the only time I get involved in conversation on here. Then again I have no patience and want instant gratification on my queries and stuff, so that's why I like it. 

32 minutes ago, Noeller said:

GDTs tend to be disjointed and out of order...hard to follow.

Yup. The chat room has probably extended the life of our  TV considerably and the dogs are no  longer scared.

I too prefer the game day thread over chat.  I don't have time to sit in the chat room very long, so I miss out on a lot of you guys' thoughts.  The thread allows me to pop in from time to time and catch up.  Someone else has likely suggested this (can't read the whole thread right now) but there are free chat sites out there and someone could set up a room and post it in the game day thread.  That way, those that want to chat can, without Rich having to worry about it.

Asking for input on a feature of this site is a good thing. Thanks. 

I have used the chat room. Had fun enjoying the game with other fans. Certainly the chat room might not be used much other than for away games. If you'd like to not replace it, I wouldnt be upset but would accept your decision. If you think replacing it provides value, that would be fine. 

I very much enjoy the game day thread .... I find myself not using the chat during the game itself so its pretty ueseless to me

Is there any way to archive the chat transcript? The thing I enjoy about GDTs is that I can go back and read about events, opinions, reactions etc, as they happened during the game. A link to the transcript from a game after it is completed would be a fun read.

2 minutes ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

Is there any way to archive the chat transcript? The thing I enjoy about GDTs is that I can go back and read about events, opinions, reactions etc, as they happened during the game. A link to the transcript from a game after it is completed would be a fun read.

I'd like something like this.  I don't go into the chat room during the game (too busy yelling at the TV) but I'd be interested in reading people's thoughts afterwards if it's not already in the GDT.

Chats are logged today, however it is not usually as fun a read as a GDT.  It can be harder to follow after the fact, and the conversation is a bit more all over the place then a GDT.  People tend to post smaller one liners in chats as opposed to what you get in a thread, and there can be multiple dialogues going on at the same time between different groups of people ... or at least the attempt to do so.

It would also be a huge wall of text as opposed to neat compact posts.  

I will typically go back to read it only if there have been complaints made, and even then it is usually filtered on a single person or time frame.  It can be overwhelming to try and take in.

I have no idea what kind of logging any new chat room might have at this point.

I don't use it for 2 reasons:

1) home games I'm there and road games I prefer to not have my phone out while watching...
2) I usually go on a message board moratorium for a few days after a game (win or lose) to prevent drunk/emotional posting...

But I have used it a few times and I can see how it's a fun tool to use during the games...

I voted no. I use the chat room for away games and will likely use it during free agency and draft. Never use it for home games as I am at the game. However, I wouldn't be upset if you took it away, I could always use the GDT.  Only thing that bothers me there is all the gifs that slow down the thread.