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As a Member: Ideal Atmosphere


anthrxmilkshake
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Alright.

So here's something I've run into myself when I've been on the hunt for a site. 

I look at a site, and they have a cbox, but the cbox doesn't look to active. You ask a question, but it takes a while to get an answer, or, worst yet, those that are there dance around you because they're waiting for an actual staff member to answer leaving you thinking that you're being ignored. It's not the most welcoming environment, and can turn you off joining. If it doesn't turn you off joining, it is certainly a turn off when it comes to posting more often because it feels like you're having issues connecting to people.

 

Some sites have upgraded to using Discord, by some I mean it's quickly becoming a vastly used resource for many RP sites. The thing about this is that it's pretty difficult for some users to judge a sites activity, or level of friendliness and welcoming, when there isn't any apparent chat ON the website. I've seen a bot, recently, utilized on a site I'm a part of that I -adore- that slaps the Discord main chat channel right onto the jcink forum. It's a GREAT resource, but you still cannot chat in it from the site. Not to mention you can't ghost as a guest, you have to actually join it just to talk. Not that I'm saying "nay" to Discord, because I"m a HUGE pro-Discord user. It's an AMAZING resource in my opinion that helps staff immensely and makes things easier. 

 

So what I'm asking is..basically...what are your feelings on chats visible and useable on the forum? What about swapping out cbox entirely for Discord? How do you feel about that? Other options I'm missing?

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I am starting to feel like a broken record, with how often I say 'mobile or die' or some variation there of... but if I can't easily do something from my smart phone, it might as well be dead to me. I spend so much of my time walking and taking public transit to get anywhere, so a lot of my online time is via my phone. And I know I'm not alone in this, if you watch anyone who tracks this sort of data, it's getting to the point where most people do most (if not all) of their online stuff via smart phone or tablet.

 

So, all that to say, unless there's a chat option I can embed into my site *and* has a mobile app to let me leave it running in the background of my phone with instant notifications, then my ability to be available to the chat via a mobile app will *always* trump any other consideration. If I can't be available to the chat most of the time, then the chat is useless to me. Cboxes or similar are at best awkward to use on my phone, and the only other chat that I know if I can do from an app and also embed into my site is IRC... and IRC is craptastic on mobile. That's why I gave up on it to use Telegram, then migrated to Discord when my users expressed an interest in switching.

 

Maybe my sticking to off-site chat programs is costing me recruits, but honestly I can't be available in a cbox with any reliability, so it likely wouldn't actually be useful for recruiting for me anyways.

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Captain Amelia Waterhouse, Commanding Officer

=/\= Join =/\= Roster & Openings =/\= Rules =/\= Chat =/\=

"It is human nature to yearn to be what we were never intended for. It is singular, but it is so." -Mark Twain

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I don't think the activity in c-boxes and chat applications really mean a thing. One of the problems with social media like twitter and facebook, and a problem that has been added to by mobile phones is that people expect instant responses and need to learn to slow down and be more patient. Also, I think I'm more attracted to a forum if I see meaningful activity on it through character apps, active role-plays, plotting, open starters... If these aren't done on a regular basis I'm put off being active on the site. The activity in c-boxes, discord and other chatting apps doesn't attract me to a site. (I think sometimes they probably take activity away from the main forums.)

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So GAM recently got a discord, and at first the discord was a ghost. I have a great base of members who use the cbox on the regular. Which is great!

 

We got a few new members, who really like to discuss their plots and character development with others, which spams the cbox and makes it difficult not only for members but guest to get a word in. This is when I remind everyone that plotting and IC chat should be done in discord. Although having both can get a little hectic, it helps a lot. I do have a fear that cbox will be ignored,  so I stay as active as possible. (If you ever been to my site, you'll usually see that I've posted some dumb gif- don't judge! lmao)

 

Right now, that is how i'm using both. Cbox is more for fun and guest. Discord is for plotting and character talk. I'm still experimenting with this. Hopefully, I'll get the hang out Discord at some point. lol

 

Also, there are a lot people that don't like to use skype, and prefer discord. It's becoming pretty common. Which I've been having difficulty with the new update, so Discord has been a bit of life saver in some regards.

Edited by Bamf
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@Bamf I can't use skype on my computer, it causes the whole thing to freeze up and sometimes the only solution is completely manually hard shutting down my laptop, only to start it up again. I removed skype, and the problem evaporated. Discord allowed me to still chat with people from the site, and it has the awesome ability to chop up specific group chats into their own channels. I've noticed a couple of people saying "No, I don't like Discord" but really the vast majority of a site, as I've seen, is Discord positive. I've actually opted to remove my cbox entirely, and, instead, have place a widget depicting the chat in my general channel where the cbox would be.

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@anthrxmilkshake

 

The new Skype update is killing me! Glad I'm not the only one. As some one that prefers to talk to the person via IM about plots and stuff, discord helps a lot.

 

I keep the cbox for multiple reasons, but the big one is guests. I don't want them to feel obligated to join the discord. Unfortunately, having an open discord I've heard, has lead to a few problems. 

I'm still learning how to even manage the discord, but I think it far easier than Skype. 

 

And the widgets are cool! (And I'm a lurker on your site lol ❤️❤️❤️)

Edited by Bamf

 

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I think having an active chat on the site is certainly helpful--it makes it easier to get involved if there are people who respond quickly. On the other hand, it's not a problem for me to join an offsite chat or go back to the old fashioned way of sending PMs; I'm a shy person and sometimes fast response times put a lot of pressure on me. But if I'm serious about a site, I'll do whatever I can to get involved--I'll use whatever everyone else uses the most.

 

One important reason to have an on-site chat, though--especially for new sites--is it lets members get to know each other a bit. Test the waters in a relatively public/open space where they can participate as much or as little as they like. Off-site chats allow more in-depth discussion and are easier to use. They're more private and make it easier to get to know each other well. But joining an off-site chat can be anxiety inducing for many people, specifically for those reasons, and sometimes people need time to warm up a bit. Other times people flat out won't join an off-site chat at all because they only like to talk to their friends that way, or because it makes them anxious. So having multiple options for people is important, I think.

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Personally I think people need to stop using the Chat (regardless of on-site or discord/skype) as a main/accurate representation of the site. This is why newer sites almost never get "off the ground" in the same way they used to.

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On 7/29/2017 at 4:36 PM, CovertSphinx said:

Personally I think people need to stop using the Chat (regardless of on-site or discord/skype) as a main/accurate representation of the site. This is why newer sites almost never get "off the ground" in the same way they used to.

That's a thought. Could you elaborate on this more, please?

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My site actually upgraded to having a Discord embed into our site instead of having a cbox because there are some new bots that allow you to have a two-way conversation. So the embed is setup like a cbox would be, you can type in a name and your message without having to sign into the discord! It's a great way to merge having the cbox and discord because the inactive chat was killing my site a little bit but that was because everyone was on discord, not the cbox. With the embed, it's been SUPER helpful! 

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Thanks, @Achera. How do you embed it? I know next to nothing about discord, but this is something I want if I end up switching over to it 

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@UaithneThere is a Discord bot called WidgetBot that allows you to create an embedded version of a single channel on your Discord server. You can't type in it from your main site, but it has a fat button on it to join the Discord and shows people talking.

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@Uaithne @anthrxmilkshake

 

There is also a Discord bot called Titan that allows you communicate from the widget or the discord server. It lists all your channels and let's you opt to be in guest mode or log in on your discord. WidgetBot will be doing the two-way chat at some point, but at the moment it doesn't do what Titan does. Both give you an iframe embed code that you use similar to cbox and can install it just the same!

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Not all things last... Some thrive in the fire while others die
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I really love Discord, but I agree that it does make sites look inactive. We try to keep our cbox looking active and just stick to Discord when a few of us are mobile (easier than mobile cbox.) 

 

 

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@AcheraThis wouldn't happen to function on JCink would it? Could you possibly link the bot? The only one I found is completely offline by that name.

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