# Help Test CometChat



## Drew

*Update! Please see this post:
http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f41/help-test-cometchat-160400/index3.html#post1059601282*

We're giving CometChat a trial run, turned *off* by default.

1) Join the SAS Chat User public group to test it out:
http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/profile.php?do=editusergroups

2) Once you enable the chat, you should see the chat at the bottom of every forum page:









Let me know if you have any questions or have any problems.

Drew


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## Drew

Please share all your positive and negative feedback!


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## Famous

OK, the first thing I saw was a ban warning..., no other users.


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## melissa75

^Are you referring to the announcement, "Just cause it's new doesn't mean I won't ban you for breaking the rules"? It's the announcements icon you click on the left of the chatrooms on the toolbar at the bottom that everyone sees.


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## melissa75

Cuss filter is broken. Since we know it is broken, no need for any of you to "test" it. Also, we determined the word "suck" is filtered with 4 astericks.


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## rdrr

ok, ive joined the group. how can i try it?


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## MsDaisy

I played the dart game with AwkwardGal. It was a lot of laughs, but the darts were moving around and reminded of my drunk days...I kept throwing darts at the wall. :teeth


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## melissa75

rdrr said:


> ok, ive joined the group. how can i try it?


Do you see the toolbar at the bottom of your screen? Or, something that says "chatrooms" at the bottom, leftish? Click on "chatrooms", and it will open up.


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## rdrr

melissa75 said:


> Do you see the toolbar at the bottom of your screen? Or, something that says "chatrooms" at the bottom, leftish? Click on "chatrooms", and it will open up.


i am on my phone, but not on the app. i presume it only works on a flash enabled computer. if so, ill try it when i get home.


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## hoddesdon

melissa75 said:


> Cuss filter is broken. Since we know it is broken, no need for any of you to "test" it. Also, we determined the word "suck" is filtered with 4 astericks.


That word should always be filtered. If you know what the grammatical object of the full expression is, then it is obvious that it is obscene. I am surprised that it has been allowed up to now.


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## Syndacus

The tool bar is really small and inconspicuous. It blends in with the overall forum background very well...


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## rdrr

It made the site much slower, even when not chatting.


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## Syndacus

Can't delete your own created chatrooms. Limited moderator privileges for user created chatrooms.


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## Drew

rdrr said:


> It made the site much slower, even when not chatting.


Can I ask what operating system (eg Windows 7) and browser (eg Internet Explorer 9) you are using?



Syndacus said:


> Can't delete your own created chatrooms. Limited moderator privileges for user created chatrooms.


Both of these are very insightful points and my big concerns. Thanks for sharing them.


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## Syndacus

Drew said:


> Can I ask what operating system (eg Windows 7) and browser (eg Internet Explorer 9) you are using?
> 
> Both of these are very insightful points and my big concerns. Thanks for sharing them.


I share the same sentiments as RDRR when it comes to the speed of the site with the chat being enabled. I wonder if I just create about 50 rooms and see how slow the site gets


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## Drew

Syndacus said:


> The tool bar is really small and inconspicuous. It blends in with the overall forum background very well...


Good thing or bad thing? I think it could go either way. I'd like to hear other people's thoughts on if they'd like ipthe bar to be "bolder".


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## Syndacus

Perhaps a different color, darker toolbar to differentiate with the overall layout of the site, cause it blends in there nicely. I'm running on a 1920x1200(?) resolution and it's tiny.


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## rdrr

Drew said:


> Can I ask what operating system (eg Windows 7) and browser (eg Internet Explorer 9) you are using?
> 
> Both of these are very insightful points and my big concerns. Thanks for sharing them.


Win 7 Enterprise
Firefox 9.01
Latest Flash plugin.


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## Syndacus

I think people are allergic to me on there. I just walk in and say hi and they immediately leave..


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## fingertips

links with anchors finally work!


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## meepie

Pros:
- Simple interface
- Not much lag, if any at all
- Nice interactive games on the private chat(the games were not laggy either)
- Invisible option
- Chatroom doesn't alert other users you've entered
Cons:
- I see ads on top of the PMs... and also in the games I've played
- You can only be in one room at a time in the chatrooms

Overall, there were many pros. I hope you will consider this chat over the other one .


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## Drew

Also we aren't linking to it automatically yet, but there's a mobile version at:
http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/cometchat/ (mobile only, you won't see anything on your computer via this link)

You can only have private chats with your friends through the mobile interface at this point, there's no public chat room access.


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## silenced

How long do created rooms stay up for?
I created one last night and its gone today...

The novelty has worn off now, it felt good for a couple of days and now
it has gotten boring. I would rate this the same as the other chat.


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## Drew

rdrr said:


> Win 7 Enterprise
> Firefox 9.01
> Latest Flash plugin.


Hmm, in general do you consider your computer fast?

Regardless, there's going to be a bit of a slow down because it has to load the chat on every page load.


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## Drew

silenced said:


> How long do created rooms stay up for?
> I created one last night and its gone today...


10 minutes after last activity


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## Hallucinating Zebra

Gah, I've seen this chat program before, Never been a fan of it.


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## Ventura

i;ll be looking forward to rating this soon. i cant use the puter for a few days , but onces im up and round, I'll make a full reveiw for ya

Do oyo think you could add webcames? 

Also thank for the trial


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## Ventura

So far this is my view









Pro's :

-Faster then normal chat, no lags.
-Game room's (ogosh so cool)  i really think this is a col feature to have.
- You can message people well niot on chat.
- you can bgo invisable withes people knowing your their 
- you can make royou own rooms ... their is a con to that, people could make a pw for a room and feel left out .... :roll
- Users who are afraid to duse chagt , can now make small chat rooms for their friends on forums, and start small.

Con's
- The smile faces are ugly :rain .... but because they aren't flash it helps it not be so slow.
-Ad's ....
-Even the people who don't have the messenger and are on your friends list, it still pops up their online to message which is confusing.


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## rdrr

Drew said:


> Hmm, in general do you consider your computer fast?
> 
> Regardless, there's going to be a bit of a slow down because it has to load the chat on every page load.


I tried it this morning, it's not slow anymore. Don't know what I did different, maybe cleared cookies.


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## Ventura

Cutest chat game ever xD


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## tea111red

I don't like CometChat, it has a more depressing atmosphere, to me anyway. Too bland and you can't see when someone is typing like you can w/ the current one.


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## Aphexfan

I think its a pretty nice feature! Ive actually wanted something like this on the site for awhile since the whole vm/pm thing can become alittle tired so its a nice change of pace :yes, and the game option is pretty fun!

Its nice and simple, but yea there needs to be more smiley options and a way to use the sas ones which are pretty nice. And should there be a video option like gmail or fb?


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## Joe

I joined the group but im not sure how to go on it.


-- The bar isn't showing up.


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## Drew

jJoe said:


> I joined the group but im not sure how to go on it.
> 
> -- The bar isn't showing up.


What operating system (eg Windows 7) and browser (eg Firefox) are you using?


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## Ventura

Drew said:


> What operating system (eg Windows 7) and browser (eg Firefox) are you using?


I'm having problems on window's xp using cromes, so I had to use IE.

But I'm on windows 7 now, seems to be working fine.

A few people say it does not work on Firefox.


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## Joe

Windows Vista and internet explorer 8 im using


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## kiirby

I've joined, but I'm having trouble viewing the toolbar, and using the direct link it doesn't load at all. Might be related to my using a proxy to view the site, not sure.

In terms of operating systems, I'm using Windows 7 and Chrome as my browser.


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## MissGemmaRogers

It doesnt work for me  Please keep the other chat room as well.


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## Drew

MissGemmaRogers said:


> It doesnt work for me  Please keep the other chat room as well.





kiirby said:


> I've joined, but I'm having trouble viewing the toolbar, and using the direct link it doesn't load at all. Might be related to my using a proxy to view the site, not sure.
> 
> In terms of operating systems, I'm using Windows 7 and Chrome as my browser.





jJoe said:


> I joined the group but im not sure how to go on it.
> 
> -- The bar isn't showing up.


Can you guys not see this?










I'm working on making it more visible


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## kiirby

Not at all I'm afraid. Thanks for implementing it, though. From that it looks pretty awesome.


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## Joe

Nope, but it was up a few weeks ago for a day or two with me.


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## i just want luv

just needs a darker color, like a dark blue or red or black or a bold.
I approve of this prop.


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## Drew

Hmm, let's figure why this isn't appearing for so many of you.

Have you tried holding Shift and then clicking Refresh and seeing if it appears?

Do you have any extensions that block or modify the content of webpages? (e.g. AdBlocker)

Do you have any anti-virus or security extensions or applications running?


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## Drew

jJoe said:


> Nope, but it was up a few weeks ago for a day or two with me.


It was just added to the site yesterday for the first time.


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## Drew

i just want luv said:


> just needs a darker color, like a dark blue or red or black or a bold.
> I approve of this prop.


Yeah, that's the plan. Thanks for your feedback.


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## Ventura

Drew said:


> I'm working on making it more visible


I like that it's lighter, blends in the forum better.

one thing that annoys me (ish), I can deal with...

Is you cant have SAS open within 2 tabs, or the chat messes up, you can't shout the chat off on 1 tab or it messes them both up.

Also people that *don't* have the messenger yet.... you can see them threw invisible mode for forums, it's weird. .... you can see when they come online :b


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## Drew

Drew said:


> Hmm, let's figure why this isn't appearing for so many of you.
> 
> Have you tried holding Shift and then clicking Refresh and seeing if it appears?
> 
> Do you have any extensions that block or modify the content of webpages? (e.g. AdBlocker)
> 
> Do you have any anti-virus or security extensions or applications running?


I made a change to the how the script loads.

Please hold Shift and click refresh and let me know if it appears.

Thanks!


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## Drew

Ventura said:


> Also people that *don't* have the messenger yet.... you can see them threw invisible mode for forums, it's weird. .... you can see when they come online :b


Good catch. Can you still?

Working on other one...


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## Drew

Ventura said:


> you can't shout the chat off on 1 tab or it messes them both up.


What does this mean?


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## mere phantom

I dont think people are really going to use it much. The javachat they had years ago was the best, but I know it costs money.


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## Ventura

Drew said:


> Good catch. Can you still?
> 
> Working on other one...


Yes I can. Got a bit confusions as I thought those people signed up for the messenger, but looked at their groups and they weren't in the chat group thingy.



Drew said:


> What does this mean?


ERm sorry still on meds from an op I had a few days ago... :doh .

If you have SAS on 2 tabs, you can't shut chat off on one of the tabs, without the other chat shutting off on the the other tab. If you have 2 tabs open, the messenger starts to mess up. Not sure if that makes much sense. Also is there a way to pop out the message bar if we wanted too? I know we can popout chat, but can we popout the other?

EDIT: Seems not to be as big of a problem with 2 tabs open anymore.


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## Ventura

Also I see their is Chat Logs for messenger but not chat ? .... the Messenger part of it has one, but not see an option to look up further up sent messages for chat.

Also how do I get it so Chat does not keep telling me I am a guy? :rain


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## Sam1911

I like the regular chat, this is good for keeping in contact with people on your friends list but the chat feature on it sucks


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## Skip_DJ

I just tried the new chat. Its totally awesome. I like it!


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## fingertips

we can't make rooms anymore?


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## Drew

fingertips said:


> we can't make rooms anymore?


Not until we can find out who makes the rooms and have more control over the rooms after they are made.

Within minutes of putting the chat live, there was an offensive chat room name and later there was another one.

So, you have your fellow SASers to thanks.


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## Drew

Ventura said:


> Yes I can. Got a bit confusions as I thought those people signed up for the messenger, but looked at their groups and they weren't in the chat group thingy.
> 
> ERm sorry still on meds from an op I had a few days ago... :doh .
> 
> If you have SAS on 2 tabs, you can't shut chat off on one of the tabs, without the other chat shutting off on the the other tab. If you have 2 tabs open, the messenger starts to mess up. Not sure if that makes much sense. Also is there a way to pop out the message bar if we wanted too? I know we can popout chat, but can we popout the other?
> 
> EDIT: Seems not to be as big of a problem with 2 tabs open anymore.


That makes sense. You won't be able to surf the site in one window/tab without the chat and have the chat in the other open. It'll always be open in all or closed in all.

I think it's probably always going to be a little slow when open in multiple windows/tabs, but it's also going to be dependent on your computer, operating system and browser. I don't notice it being that much of a problem on my MacBook with Chrome with a few windows open. Also, if you are playing games, that'll slow it down as well.



Ventura said:


> Also I see their is Chat Logs for messenger but not chat ? .... the Messenger part of it has one, but not see an option to look up further up sent messages for chat.
> 
> Also how do I get it so Chat does not keep telling me I am a guy? :rain


I don't know why they don't offer chat logs for the chat. It doesn't make sense to me!

Where does it refer to you as a guy?

Thanks!


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## ConfusedMuse

I like that you can play games on CometChat. Other than that I prefer the other one. It's not a reluctance to accept change or anything, I just genuinely feel the Flash Chat is better. The smileys are 100% better, it's got a more interesting interface to look at (it may seem trivial, but CometChat is just not aesthetically pleasing), it is consistent with chat sounds (alerts for when messages are received as well as people coming and going, which I like). You can do "actions", as well as personalize your text, not only through colour, but also font styles.

If CometChat replaced the flash, I would see it as a down grade, to be honest. So there's my opinion.


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## Drew

ConfusedMuse said:


> I like that you can play games on CometChat. Other than that I prefer the other one. It's not a reluctance to accept change or anything, I just genuinely feel the Flash Chat is better. The smileys are 100% better, it's got a more interesting interface to look at (it may seem trivial, but CometChat is just not aesthetically pleasing), it is consistent with chat sounds (alerts for when messages are received as well as people coming and going, which I like). You can do "actions", as well as personalize your text, not only through colour, but also font styles.
> 
> If CometChat replaced the flash, I would see it as a down grade, to be honest. So there's my opinion.


Very much appreciated.


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## Syndacus

Old Farts Lounge wasn't an offensive chat room name...


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## Joe

Drew said:


> Hmm, let's figure why this isn't appearing for so many of you.
> 
> Have you tried holding Shift and then clicking Refresh and seeing if it appears?
> 
> Do you have any extensions that block or modify the content of webpages? (e.g. AdBlocker)
> 
> Do you have any anti-virus or security extensions or applications running?


I have windows firewall on and norton anti virus, but the chatroom appears on both google chrome and firefox with the same settings as I use on internet explorer.

I had to allow scripts on firefox, but no option to allow shows up on internet explorer.


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## Ventura

Drew said:


> I think it's probably always going to be a little slow when open in multiple windows/tabs, but it's also going to be dependent on your computer, operating system and browser. I don't notice it being that much of a problem on my MacBook with Chrome with a few windows open. Also, if you are playing games, that'll slow it down as well.
> 
> Thanks!


For a heads up I am still able to see people who are *invisible*, on forums that have not yet even turned on messenger. Also the people who don't have their messanger put on yet on viable shows up on this list confusing :b



> That makes sense. You won't be able to surf the site in one window/tab without the chat and have the chat in the other open. It'll always be open in all or closed in all.


^ Ya, It's livable 



> I don't know why they don't offer chat logs for the chat. It doesn't make sense to me!


^ I have seen anther forum I used, have this function and was able to look past logs.



> Where does it refer to you as a guy?


In the game section a bug that needs to be fixed, the 'edit' wont work. Their is no big deal really!! Nothing that needs to be fixed asap!!! Other things can come first.










Really I :heart , this chat. I've seen members that never go on chat go into small chat rooms or even now use the messanger, and they said they love it.

It's simple and fast... and I found the Mic option :eek !!!

Also take in note, people where having heart attack when you updated chat a few months ago!!! And now its hardly complained about other then the bugs!!!!


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## Ventura

jJoe said:


> Windows Vista and internet explorer 8 im using





MissGemmaRogers said:


> It doesnt work for me  Please keep the other chat room as well.





kiirby said:


> I've joined, but I'm having trouble viewing the toolbar, and using the direct link it doesn't load at all. Might be related to my using a proxy to view the site, not sure.
> 
> In terms of operating systems, I'm using Windows 7 and Chrome as my browser.


Do you see this ? I noticed now, that when you first join, it shows a very small chat icon to the side. Possibly your just over looking it? Blends in well.


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## Drew

jJoe said:


> I have windows firewall on and norton anti virus, but the chatroom appears on both google chrome and firefox with the same settings as I use on internet explorer.
> 
> I had to allow scripts on firefox, but no option to allow shows up on internet explorer.


What version of Internet Explorer are you using? I'll report it to CometChat.



Ventura said:


> For a heads up I am still able to see people who are *invisible*, on forums that have not yet even turned on messenger. Also the people who don't have their messanger put on yet on viable shows up on this list confusing :b


Can you still see those people? If so, I'll report it to CometChat!



Ventura said:


> ^ I have seen anther forum I used, have this function and was able to look past logs.


It's not available for because we are using their hosted service.



Ventura said:


> In the game section a bug that needs to be fixed, the 'edit' wont work. Their is no big deal really!! Nothing that needs to be fixed asap!!! Other things can come first.


We have no control over the game section. It's hosted by a third party.



Ventura said:


> Do you see this ? I noticed now, that when you first join, it shows a very small chat icon to the side. Possibly your just over looking it? Blends in well.


Good catch! This shouldn't happen anymore. It should load the bar first time. If anyone sees the small chat icon Ventura posted a screenshot of, then please let me know.


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## Ventura

Not sure if it's showing inadvisable's (was as of 5pm 2nite)- I saw a lurking and it told me they where online. :b . :roll

But I know Jim_morrison and avidobot300 have not set up the messenger, part yet, leaving it confusing, when you see it on the list.


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## Drew

Ventura said:


> Not sure if it's showing inadvisable's (was as of 5pm 2nite)- I saw a lurking and it told me they where online. :b . :roll
> 
> But I know Jim_morrison and avidobot300 have not set up the messenger, part yet, leaving it confusing, when you see it on the list.


What happens when you click on their name and try to chat with them?


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## Ventura

Drew said:


> What happens when you click on their name and try to chat with them?


It acts like they have the messenger


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## Drew

That's what's so confusing about the chat.

They do have the chat, but they have set the *chat status* to offline.

They *appear online in the chat* because they are *online on the forums*, even though they are *offline in the chat*.


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## Drew

This is just an update to everyone not to get too attached to CometChat as we may not be using it as a replacement for 123FlashChat.

It has far too many issues, some without easy fixes, seems to be having an adverse effect on the server (and potentially the site layout) despite that we are offloading most of the work to CometService, the mobile support is terrible, and moderation with it won't be easy. Also, there are a lot of SASers who have made it very clear that they don't like and in some ways, I agree.

123FlashChat has had its issues and poor support, but it seems the new version of their chat has cleared up a lot of the problems.

If we keep 123FlashChat, we'll either disable CometChat completely or leave just the one-to-one chat.

But again, don't get attached to it as it might not be sticking around in any form.

I appreciate all the feedback you guys have provided.

Edit:

*I'll let you know my decision in a week, that's Sunday, January 22nd.*

Edit 2: Another option we may explore is integrating 123FlashChat into SAS better for users to choose to turn it on. Any integration would be off by default.


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## Ventura

http://www.123flashchat.com/facebook-messenger-chat.html So this is what you would add on instead? I really like messenger and not having to sign-in chat...... Anyway we could imput the games on flash chat? :b .  I really like the Messanager part of CometChat and the games =D .


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## Joe

Drew said:


> What version of Internet Explorer are you using? I'll report it to CometChat.


Internet explorer 8


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## Ventura

jJoe said:


> Internet explorer 8


I just tried IE on windows 7 and it does not work......
Try cromes?


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## Joe

^ chrome/firefox work but i prefair internet explorer, its not a big deal for me since i can use the other chat though.


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## miela

Things I do like:
Pop out
Document share
Loads quickly, does not crash


Things I do not like:
Very little personality
-a few font colors, most don't show up well on white (yellow, lime green, turquoise)
-no icons
-no font face/size selection
-ugly smiles
You can't do actions (/me)
Not very intuitive (many people could not find the sound off button while I was in chat)

I think the games take away from the actual chatting, but it isn't a bad feature.
I prefer Flashchat even though it does crash frequently.


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## Ventura

Banned users can still use the chat I noticed.


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## Drew

Ventura said:


> Banned users can still use the chat I noticed.


Good catch. Not any more!


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## Ventura

Drew said:


> Good catch. Not any more!


:teeth

Status: Unofficial SAS BetaTester 

Also some people I still see login to SAS invisible ... visible here and they don't have messanger set up either... which is wierd


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## Cheesecake

I don't like it. It looks ugly, has no soul. When I go on there, it makes me feel bad. I'll feel lost if we switch to this new chat.


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## BobtheBest

Wah, I love this!


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## JimmyDeansRetartedCousin

There's no-one in the rooms, and the one on one chat only works sporadically.


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## Drew

I'd like to give everyone one last chance to share their thoughts on the CometChat.

Thanks!


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## Drew

CometChat has been removed.

After some other more pressing issues are addressed, we may test further chat features for SAS, but it won't be for at least a few weeks.

Thanks for all your feedback!


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