Integrate ParaChat v7.0 Into vBulletin - Hosted Chat Services

[parachat]

Download the attached document and follow the instructions in the READ ME - INSTALL.html file. For an example of ParaChat integration with vBulletin, please visit http://community.parachat.com/vb/index.php

*** Promotional Text Removed *** (MarcoH64)

To receive a free ParaChat evaluation visit http://www.parachat.com/professional/proevaluation.html.

This integration will support the following Hosted Chat Services:

ParaChat Basic
ParaChat Advanced
ParaChat Professional
ParaChat Enterprise
ParaChat Event
ParaChat Server (server is installed on your hardware)

[Azhrialilu]

nice... does it integrate with usergroups?

[o0oicebergo0o]

wow that chat looks real good, low resource, lots of options, and smooth wow

but um, it costs too much for me, does the Advanced version that is $5 a month work with vbulletin?

[Guest210212002]

I'd assume it works with vB.

Questions: I use EIRC right now, which looks exactly the same, is free, but requires an IRC channel/connection to be made each time.

I have it set to log my users in under their forum name. Will your chat do that as well?

Edit: Reading the installer, it looks like it does. I might have to give this a shot. In my opinion though, if you're offering a mod that has a paid-service attached to it, it would be nice if your installer would at the very least create the phrases.

[Connector]

is thi (http://www.upload2share.com/)s is onl (http://www.club2share.com/)y demo .. (http://www.ourbb.org). or what ? :ermm: (http://support.ourbb.org)

[Guest210212002]

is this is only demo ... or what ? :ermm:

No, it's live, the paid version just has more functionality.

[Connector]

No, it's live, the paid version just has more functionality.

i just read some guy comma (http://www.ourbb.org)nts in parac (http://www.upload2share.com/)hat site not sure really if i understand him correct there is limi (http://www.xproxy.org)ted user can access like 3- (http://www.club2share.com/forums/)5 at the same (http://www.ourbb.org/home.php?go=partner) time .. ?

[kommuni]

Hmm look nice,

a view questions:

- is there an integration of usergroups (which usergroups are allowed to use the chat, and which not, which are chat-moderators or chat-admins)
- i think there could not really be a user/database integration with hosted services. so the integration is just used through pushing the usernames to the applett?

A really nice chat and maybe worth the money for pro-edition, but the integration should be really seamless.

[orphan]

Hi
i get this error

Undefined index: REDIRECT_URL in D:\webroot\vBulentin\includes\class_core.php on line 1916

Any ideas of what might be wrong ?

[parachat]

I'd assume it works with vB.

Questions: I use EIRC right now, which looks exactly the same, is free, but requires an IRC channel/connection to be made each time.

I have it set to log my users in under their forum name. Will your chat do that as well?

Edit: Reading the installer, it looks like it does. I might have to give this a shot. In my opinion though, if you're offering a mod that has a paid-service attached to it, it would be nice if your installer would at the very least create the phrases.

ParaChat does not use IRC, it is a private network. There is not "phrase" needed. You only need your site ID and chat room name. This keeps things a bit more secure and stable. This also allows you to only allow your chat room to run on your website and not anyone elses.

When you use the Advanced or Professional you have a unique set of user names available, thus there is no name collision. This allows you to automatically log users into your chat room when they are logged into vBulletin. The Basic service is a shared (free chat service) and thus name collisions might occur so a user is not automatically logged in.

[parachat]

i just read some guy commants in parachat site not sure really if i understand him correct there is limited user can access like 3-5 at the same time .. ?

The number of concurrent users allowed in your chat room all depends on the service you implement. The 3-5 users is only limited in our free ParaChat server download. Our hosted options are all based on sizes from 25 to 2,000 concurrent users.

[parachat]

Hi
i get this error



Any ideas of what might be wrong ?


When do you get this error?

[Guest210212002]

ParaChat does not use IRC, it is a private network. There is not "phrase" needed. You only need your site ID and chat room name. This keeps things a bit more secure and stable. This also allows you to only allow your chat room to run on your website and not anyone elses.



I'm talking about the phrases that vB requires for it to work, as in your install instructions:


Login to your vBulletin Admin Control Panel. Click Languages & Phrases >>> Phrase Manager. Click the Add New Phrase button for each phrase listed below. Copy & Paste the Phrase Type, Varname, and Text as shown in the table below for each phrase listed.

Phrase Type Varname Text
GLOBAL parachat_chatnow Chat Room
GLOBAL parachat_link Chat
GLOBAL parachat_title Chat Room
GLOBAL parachat_chatting Number Of Users Chatting
GLOBAL parachat_popup Chat In A New Window (pop-up)
GLOBAL parachat_embed Chat In Forum Web Page


As well as the templates.

[parachat]

I'm talking about the phrases that vB requires for it to work, as in your install instructions:



As well as the templates.


We are currently working on that. It should be out in the next week or so.

[djwins]

I am interested in this...Is anyone using this in a "real" enviornment.
EDIT: Just checked out the prices...kinda pricey! (and by "kinda", I mean very!)

[parachat]

Yes. ParaChat has been around since 1996. Like most companies we do not give out our customer list, but you can try to google "parachat vbulletin" and see what you get.

I'm not really sure, but $6.95 a month for ParaChat Advanced service doesn't seem that pricey to me.

[TheComputerGuy]

I like this software...and I think 6.95 is a fair price.

I am going to try out the free versions and if my users like it...I am going for a yearly license.

[dsotmoon]

does this give you an admin area like the IPB integration does? ie: admin can set size, colors, member groups, etc etc I use parachat advanced on an IPB board and the users love it more so than flashchat which I am using on my vB now

[TheComputerGuy]

I just purchased the pro chat room and I am having some issues with the chatroom. Does this work well with other modifications?

[Roxie]

I have the Professional working well..although I'm not sure I'll keep it too long as it is a bit much...(over 260$/yr). The only issue I have is that members that have special characters in their name are denied access. My members have been changing their names.

[SOL-R]

Hi, I have intragrated Parachat into my vbulletin board. I have also set up two chat counters for two of the rooms we have. I have a member that says the chat counters are slowing down the board because of the the java having to reload on every page.

I have two questions............

How much of a load does this add to the board
Is there another way to have the counters with them loading every page


I have the counters in the pm box right off the nav bar.

I am also told that it is causing corupting of cache?

Any suggestions or comments?

Thanks

Richard

[nevetS]

The Pro code in the readme file is a little bit broken - it has opening tags for a table, but no closing tag. It caused the chat window to be off center in the popup.

[aztecboi2003]

Does this work on vb 3.6.7 PL1?

[---MAD---]

Does this work on vb 3.6.7 PL1?
I would like that question answered too. If it does, does it work with parachat 8.0?

[SOL-R]

Hello, I am using it on it on 3.6.8 PL2 and parachat version 8.2. It works fine. I am using it a bit differently I have the how many in the rooms code in a popup vs showing it all the time. That way it takes up less resources.

I also have a drop down for entering the chat rooms too.

R.

[shadowevil]

Does this work on vb 3.7.x ??

[GoTTi]

i cant get this to work on 3.6.8 using the free basic service. it is not pulling the vbulletin user information from the db. ask for a login. will you be updating this mod to work with current versionf of vbulletin, and also upgrading the install procedures as a plugin?

[ArnyVee]

Has anyone attempted to get this to work on 3.7 yet?

[Jaxel]

Does anyone use ParaChat on 3.8?

[zerohead]

I do :)

It works fine for 3.8 :) since this is not a hack, you are just embedding an HTML code into a VB page This will work on any VB version....even 5 (10 years from now :D)

I have the pro license, the only down side is the money : IT IS PRICEY
right now you get 25 people license for 22 box a month on the pro version, and $10 for the standard.
My members love it though.
What I think is if they come down on the price just a notch it will make a lot of sense because they are hosting the chat server so your forum keep running smooth even with 25 people chatting at the same time

this chat is flawless, and runs pretty smooth, big difference between this and any flash chat I have tried
If chat is important to your forum, go with this one :)

[Eq4bits]

I have the 'Standard' paid version of Parachat (formerly called 'Advanced') and the # of chatters is built in to the Standard paid version.
Running vB 3.8.1 PL1
Just tried integrating this and after making the navbar changes when I save the template I get an error message stating that an expected ']' is missing on line 114 of adminfunctions_template.php.

when I check adminfunctions_template.php lines 113-117 show as follows, but I'm not catching where a bracket should be
if (is_array($template))
{
array_walk($template, 'array_trim');
$template = "background: $template[background]; color: $template[color]; padding: $template[padding]; border: $template[border];";
}

what am I not seeing?

[hqarrse]

Warning.

This integration has a file chat_auth.php . It is an unprotected tool for testing username/ password pairs and therefore an open invitation to hackers. If you are using parachat I strongly suggest you stop until this problem is sorted. I have reported this to parachat but as yet (5 days later) have had no response.

[hqarrse]

Response:



Thank you for contacting ParaChat Support. I apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry. The vBulletin module to which you refer is not available for download from our web site at this time. Please note that all of our third-party integration modules are currently being re-developed, including the vBulletin integration module. The new modules will include a method to recognize calls where applicable, and will be available for download from our web site when they are completed. But utilization of the HTTP Authentication file itself is optional.

The HTTP authentication file is deployed on installations external to the ParaChat system, so its level of exposure from a security standpoint will vary from installation to installation. The Auto Log-in feature could be utilized exclusive of HTTP authentication. Also, if the HTTP authentication feature is used, your ParaChat service could be configured to limit the number of simultaneous connections allowed per IP address. However, the remedy for the issue as you describe it will be the utilization of the new module when released. We understand your concern, and genuinely appreciate your feedback on this topic.


A good point that even if you do protect the file, then the chat system itself can be used for brute force as there are no maximum tries, but I'm guessing that since this is via a java applet, it is more of a task for a hacker than just downloading an HTML form hacking tool.

Anyway, assuming Parachat come good with their updated module, then I am impressed with the response, although it did take a week. In the mean time you can look at your server log and see what IP address they are using to request autorisation on chat_autrh.php and limit access to it, so:


<Directory /mypath/mydirectory>
<Files chat_auth.php>
order deny,allow
deny from all
allow from 64.13.158.89
</Files>
</Directory>


I don't know how often that IP address will vary. Time will tell I suppose - I'll watch my logs and wait for complaints.

[hurricane_sh]

It would be great if you could create a mod for vB4.