Adding a Shout-box or Chat-box

[Jason]

Regarding Shout-boxes​

This forum doesn't have one but I've seen quite a number of popular ones (in the world where all you guys hangout in) have them. Anyway, what do you see are the pros and cons of it? Do you feel the price is reasonable? Does anyone use a free one, like say, the most popular free shout-box for MyBB? What might be the difference between free and premium shout-boxes?

Chat-boxes​

I'm not as familiar with them. What are some popular ones? Do you think they would be useful for a forum? Are they the same as a chat-box? I don't think so, as they seem to be for private conversation. They are the platform you use for hosting support (with some companies).

 

[Senkusha]

I've used Shout boxes a few times over the years. I've found that they take away from members writing posts. I guess that's a good thing if you want to keep daily random chatter down. I guess it just depends what kind of forum conversations you're wanting. I prefer longer term topics.

 

[Jason]

I'd certainly like to add one (shout-box) to my forum when I get the cash, but it won't be cheap.

 

[Arantor]

I'm not sure what the difference between shoutbox and chatbox is, or how any of the discourse is different to 'does my forum need a Discord'.

 

[Shortie]

Shoutboxes and chat boxes have always been something I used to use back when they were fairly new and quite popular. Now I find that they tend to take away from the main focus of the forums and often, you see the shoutbox or chat box getting more activity than the forums.

 

[Husk]

I'm going to be honest, I've never really cared for them. As mentioned before, it takes away from people posting on the actual forum.

 

[Jason]

It's all a numbers game. The more people, the less people going to the boxes in proportion to the rest of the forum.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I think having a shout box on a forum is okay if it's a roleplaying one, but now days forums like this tend to have a Discord or Guilded server to have real time chats. Having a shout box on a general discussion forum may take away from the forum's activity. The only exception where it hasn't affected activity on the forum that I've seen is on @Nebulous's forum, Off Topix.

 

[Calamity]

Maybe a really popular forum, especially if there’s live events of some sort relevant to the forum. But for many, it’s just clutter and won’t get used

 

[Empire]

I never had or used them, Only on SMF days when I was running that free software however it didn't get most of the member's attention by any means. it takes away from the main index topics. I only like them when they feed topics and reply to them more so then people typing.

It tales up to much space and I removed it and people/members like Discord

 

[Bluezone777]

It would probably get used if it was at the top but the ones who do use them tend to stick them at the bottom in a place few are ever going to scroll down to. It would also have to be on a board that's getting actively used by enough people as well. I used them with both boards I ran and found them to be a great addition to the community. It brought the community together in ways that would not be possible without it. We would have conversations that went on throughout the evening and deep into the night every day. The one I used was called cbox and I checked today and they are still online after all this time.

 

[Cory]

I used to use a shoutbox when I used ZetaBoards, but ever since I moved to Jcink after its departure, I haven't used one. I have plenty of "general" areas for people to attend to on my board and I essentially consider my "Chit-Chat Thread" the shoutbox of my forum. I don't see much of a use for it on a resource board like mine where people mainly come for the resources. I do have a Discord for my forum though and I have a channel where I post every new resource that is posted on the board, which I imagine is useful for those that don't visit often but still want live notifications of new resources posted.

 

[Darth Cognus]

I think the forum was already struggling to be relevant if the shoutbox or other chat actually affects the activity. Generally it's just... there. I don't look for it, hardly ever use it. Useful if you don't use discord or want to have an alternative chat. I've seen it do well if built in nicely. One forum had it built in towards the top, at first it seemed obnoxious but it actually went well with the rest of the board. But that was/is an active community, plus a small discord server on the side. I think it's useful as an option when you've found your footing but before then rather pointless.

 

[Al]

It detracts from the purpose of having a forum in the first place. Chatboxes mean people don’t need to post. It’s counterproductive.

 

[Nebulous]

I think having a shout box on a forum is okay if it's a roleplaying one, but now days forums like this tend to have a Discord or Guilded server to have real time chats. Having a shout box on a general discussion forum may take away from the forum's activity. The only exception where it hasn't affected activity on the forum that I've seen is on @Nebulous's forum, Off Topix.

Thanks for the shoutout, I've seen it work on quite a few forums. Shoutboxes are mainly used to say "hi" and "bye" and things of that nature. You'd don't really see members spending all their time in a shoutbox.

 

[NeoMetallix]

I'm not a fan of them, I just use a general chat topic to achieve the same thing. They tend to detract from conversations that could happen on the forum too.

I've had it where people were discussing games in the shoutbox rather than the designated spot.