ShoutBox

[Austin01]

Hey all,

When running a promotion forum, is it a smart move to add a shoutbox or chat box?

-Austin

 

[22_22]

Last time this topic came up most people went against this idea and I doubt people would have changed their minds. If it's done correctly then it might just work but more likely on a chat forum than a promotion forum. It defeats the purpose of a forum though because not many people will post if there's a chatbox.

 

[Mik.]

I believe shoutboxes reduce forum activity. I wouldn't add it.

 

[Acorn]

They do reduce activity and even worse, they can create drama between your members as well as being difficult to moderate. I will always stand by what I've always said--don't bother. XD

 

[Mik.]

Yep. Why add a chatbox and have to go through all that work?

 

[Fiona1964]

I would not add one as said before it is ok on a chat forum but thats it

 

[USHost247]

Been there, done that. It kills the forum. Don't.

 

[kavin]

1) It reduces Forum activity, as people will keep discussions there instead of Forum.
2) It increase server load (a little bit).
3) Difficult to moderate.
4) increases loading time of your forum index.

So its better to avoid it.

 

[Austin01]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I have decided to avoid the chatbox/shoutbox.

 

[DreamACT]

If you guys think a shoutbox kills a forum, then you don't have a forum that's big enough. Simply put, when your forum is active on the daily and members keep coming back because they love your forum, they love it because it has a time to chat IN REAL TIME with members as well as post on the forums.

In fact sometimes, shoutbox discussions lead to forum discussions. So a shoutbox is good all around if you use it in your favor.

Need any help, PM ME.

 

[Fergal]

DreamACT do you have any examples of large forums where a shout box is working successfully?

 

[Medora]

Fergal—

Depending on what you would qualify as "large," rpg-directory.com and forums.kametsu.com may be worth a look at. The shoutbox for the latter forum is hidden from guests.

 

[DreamACT]

DreamACT do you have any examples of large forums where a shout box is working successfully?

Fergal, matter of fact I do. Sending you a PM and you tell me. Of course guests can't see it though. I will say I have been there for a long time and the shoutbox/forums are active 24/7.

Don't take my word for it. If you are interested in knowing what site, PM ME.

 

[Nebulous]

I had a shout box on a promotion forum I ran a couple years ago (in the early days of that forum when we had a portal which is where it was located). People used it to spam their site or leave obscene messages so it was removed.

 

[hcfwesker]

I've always been stern about no chats on our site, but with the Ajax Integration chat room we use after moving to SMF; it does show a list of all members in the chat in the forum stats, so the forum doesn't look dead IF members just camped in the chat. The chat became necessary just because it's an online Wii game (and wii wifi sucks when it comes to player interaction), and it got too chaotic for dozens of members trying to find a match, or host a tournament "live" without immediate responses from members. Plus, our brawl forum is the only one with a chat that supports Wii Browser members, so that's a huge added bonus and has pulled in a lot of members, who have gone on to be some of our biggest contributors as far as activity goes..

We've had it for a year, and still have 150 average members online everyday, members still posting on the forum, as well. I'll admit, posting averages have fallen, but the game's been out for over 3 years, so there's really only so much discussions left on it.

I've grown out of my "post count stats is all that matters" ideal that most admins I see around here have. Now, I'm just happy that members still show up everyday to play the game the forum was built for, and shows no signs of slowing down at all.

Now, about shoutboxes & chatrooms on other forums, especially new forums, I don't recommend it. stay away at all costs. 😛

 

[Caedus]

I have used Shoutbox's in the past as I thought they would help bring more activity. Turn outs, they bring less activity. I would highly encourage everyone to not have them on their sites.

 

[HadesForzr]

Maybe you can add a shoutbox. But state the rules, no advertising / promoting at the shoutbox. You can only promote / advertise by making the thread in the appropriate sections.

 

[Cloverfield]

Highly against shoutboxes for smallish forums as it kills activity dead. If you have a large forum then it's not to bad. Best to avoid.