best chat room software with moderation

[eytan]

Hi All,

We're looking for chat room software which allows us to moderate the chats - reason being is that the primary use for us will be to host "guest presenters" so we don't want the conversation to turn hectic, but flow well.

We want the software to be able to integrate into VB3.5. We don't need any major integration, but at least username integration so only registered members can join a chat.

I've seen that that RealChat and DigiChat can do moderation. My questions are as follows

1. What other options so we have besides the above two mentioned software (it needs a moderation option)

2. Can the above two integrate into 3.5?

3. Can anyone with experience of the above two or any other mentioned suggest what sort of numbers we will be able to cope with on a shared server.

Thanks!

Eytan

[eytan]

someone must have tips.... please :)

[davidw]

I like to use FlashChat and they just recently came out with a version a couple days ago that integrates with 3.5.

I have it on my website (took roughly 5 minutes to install).

[Boofo]

I have RealChat integrated with vB. I will be releasing the integration plug-in as soon as I get everything sorted out on the new server we just moved to.

[eytan]

I like to use FlashChat and they just recently came out with a version a couple days ago that integrates with 3.5.

I have it on my website (took roughly 5 minutes to install).

can you moderate chats with this?

I have RealChat integrated with vB. I will be releasing the integration plug-in as soon as I get everything sorted out on the new server we just moved to.

great! thanks

[davidw]

Yes you can, usergroups retain their priveledges. I show up as admin and have all admin/moderator priveledges.

You can find out more here:
http://www.tufat.com/script2.htm

and I have it integrated (30 sec hack) with vbadvanced.

[eytan]

Yes you can, usergroups retain their priveledges. I show up as admin and have all admin/moderator priveledges.

so in real time you can moderatre what lines go thru and what ones dont?

[davidw]

I've not had a chance to moderate much on it, but I just read this (since I wasn't sure) Administrator can ban and unban users, and have at their disposal a variety of text-only commands like /broadcast and /alert.
Are you wanting to know if it stop certain words to from showing up like censoring or have the ability to delete what someone has posted? Those things I've never had to deal with, so I don't know. I've edited my last post, adding information on where it is and what it looks like. I'd have to check on the other things.

[eytan]

I've not had a chance to moderate much on it, but I just read this (since I wasn't sure)
Are you wanting to know if it stop certain words to from showing up like censoring or have the ability to delete what someone has posted? Those things I've never had to deal with, so I don't know. I've edited my last post, adding information on where it is and what it looks like. I'd have to check on the other things.

The idea is that when we have a "guest" chat, we can moderate all the questions/points being sent by the users logged in. So the chat doesn't get cluttered up and it runs smooth. We choose what users comments get thru and are displayed to all logged in. makes sense?.... i know realchat can do that. This is how they put it:

Moderate chat sessions. The Enterprise Edition includes a moderator plug-in, enabling you to moderate chats or let visitors chat with celebrity guests. With complete control over an ongoing chat session, the moderator can approve or discard any messages, highlight guest star users and more.

[davidw]

I think the way flashchat works is either/or but not both. I have it set up integrated into my site, whereas I don't allow guests to chat - only registered members. However, my question about realchat is, how can someone moderate - apporoving or discarding any messages - in real time? It would make sense to me that that would not be real time, whereas a pause would ensue while waiting for moderation. Maybe I'm confused. I've always considered real time to happen as it goes - with moderation happening after the message has bene posted.

Realchat is probably better for you then. Although I know there is a censor list and there are dozens of bots that do various things I don't think this can allow a moderator to approve or discard on the fly. LOL, I'd hate to be the moderator doing that job.

[eytan]

I think the way flashchat works is either/or but not both. I have it set up integrated into my site, whereas I don't allow guests to chat - only registered members. However, my question about realchat is, how can someone moderate - apporoving or discarding any messages - in real time? It would make sense to me that that would not be real time, whereas a pause would ensue while waiting for moderation. Maybe I'm confused. I've always considered real time to happen as it goes - with moderation happening after the message has bene posted.

Realchat is probably better for you then. Although I know there is a censor list and there are dozens of bots that do various things I don't think this can allow a moderator to approve or discard on the fly. LOL, I'd hate to be the moderator doing that job.

Yes there would be a pause - so it's not realtime as such. But pretty quick....

We want to set up our chat room this way as this is the idea of it. But when we do we would limit the number of members who could log in. I also wouldn't want to be the mod with 250 users logged in trying to send messages. Maybe we'd have to limit it to 50 users or so....

[Paul M]

Flashchat does not have any ability for staff to pre approve chat text.

[davidw]

Which is why I said this :)I don't think this can allow a moderator to approve or discard on the fly. LOL, I'd hate to be the moderator doing that job.

:D

[Boofo]

With RealChat you can limit the number of users. You would have to get the Enterprise Edition for the moderated chat, though.

[eytan]

With RealChat you can limit the number of users. You would have to get the Enterprise Edition for the moderated chat, though.

I guess this seems to be my only option ATM. A little expensive....

[Boofo]

I guess this seems to be my only option ATM. A little expensive....

But worth every penny. ;)

[DjTaz]

Digichat does the same job - i think its a bit expensive as well , but they do give cheaper hosting options , and yes it moderates in real tme like you want - and very effectively as well.

Pm me if u want an example

[eytan]

Digichat does the same job - i think its a bit expensive as well , but they do give cheaper hosting options , and yes it moderates in real tme like you want - and very effectively as well.

Pm me if u want an example

So...basically after all the posts, can I conclude that my observation was correct in the first place. The only options I have is DigiChat and RealChat?

Is DigiChat as easy to integrate into VB as RealChat?

Thanks

[DjTaz]

I did up a basic script for it for VB 3.5 - and i think someone else did an excellent script for version 3 - has loads of options and is excellent.


Id like to add that digichat installs require root permissions on a server - so make sure ur hosting company will allow it.

The do host it themselves if needs be , and thats the option most use - for that there is really no limit to the amount of chatters.

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=99029 Digichat integration on Vb 3.5

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=83102 Digichat integration on Vb 3.0.x

[eytan]

I did up a basic script for it for VB 3.5 - and i think someone else did an excellent script for version 3 - has loads of options and is excellent.


Id like to add that digichat installs require root permissions on a server - so make sure ur hosting company will allow it.

The do host it themselves if needs be , and thats the option most use - for that there is really no limit to the amount of chatters.

OK great. Thanks everyone for the great help. So I guess I just need to decide which one will work for us ($$$). From the looks of things they are both very good.

[DjTaz]

Im not sure if they still do it or not , but i know Digichat used to give a trial version for a month - it allowed 10 chatters as far as i remember , but im not 100% on that since they moved up to version 5 of chat - im still using version 4.

I may have the installer for 4 somewhere if i have a look around - that might give u a better idea from the trial period.

[xti]

It would be easy to just hack in a moderation system to a well designed AJAX chatroom

[Boofo]

RealChat is a one-time charge whereas DigiChat gets you on upgrades and other fees.

[T3MEDIA]

Lets not be shy... what are the prices? Lets compare.
Flash chat if you have alot of users on it will bog down your site.

[DjTaz]

ok Found it - the demo download for Digichat is here : http://www.digichat.com/downloads.html

Prices are here : http://www.digichat.com/chat-room-software-v5-pricing.html
They start at $599 (plus the $399 if u want the moderated chat) for your own hosting
or $39.99 per month (plus $10 for moderated) for them to host it for you (if paid anually)

Digichat is kinda server intense as well if theres a lot of users on it - most hosts wont let you install it because of the root access and how much server resources it uses.

[Boofo]

ok Found it - the demo download for Digichat is here : http://www.digichat.com/downloads.html

Prices are here : http://www.digichat.com/chat-room-software-v5-pricing.html
They start at $599 (plus the $399 if u want the moderated chat) for your own hosting
or $39.99 per month (plus $10 for moderated) for them to host it for you (if paid anually)

Digichat is kinda server intense as well if theres a lot of users on it - most hosts wont let you install it because of the root access and how much server resources it uses.

Damn! RealChat is better priced than that and no upgrade or monthly charges. As far as being a server hog, you won't even notice it is running. ;)

[FlyBoy73]

Does www.Sigmachat.com have any of the features you need. Check them out.
I use them on two forums (paid) but have never looked into the moderation features you want to use. You can use the free version as well as upgrade to get more features. About $100.00 I believe for the higher end package per year.

Looks like they may have moderation out in version 8 after browsing through the forums. Don't know what that translates to in detail. We could use the features found in Digichat as well but it is quite expensive.

[eytan]

Does www.Sigmachat.com have any of the features you need. Check them out.
I use them on two forums (paid) but have never looked into the moderation features you want to use. You can use the free version as well as upgrade to get more features. About $100.00 I believe for the higher end package per year.

Looks like they may have moderation out in version 8 after browsing through the forums. Don't know what that translates to in detail. We could use the features found in Digichat as well but it is quite expensive.

Thanks for the tip. As it happens I took a look at their site and their forums. I read they will bring it out in version 7.5 (they are upto 7.4 ATM). So maybe that will be an option. Thanks.