Chat Software Recommendations for 3.7
 

I've been looking at a lot of different chat software out there to integrate with my forums. There's just a ton of great looking ones out there! Some of them free, some of the I have to pay for. Paying for one isn't a big deal to me, so long as it is worth the cost. I'm not really looking for a tight integration, more of one that when I click on "chat" in the title bar, a new window will pop up.

That said, I'm reaching out to the .org community with a question.

What chat software would you recommend getting that will definitely work with 3.7?

Flashchat, price is right ($5), integrates easily, and can show who is chatting on the main forum page

You name it I've tried it!

$5flashchat - Integrates with vb. Your script only. Nice -has voice, design features. Not enough features for me. Some report as unstable.
123flashchat - Integrates with vb if you buy script - pricey. Also hosted. Lots of features but you quickly run into buying 'extras' and it doesn't come across as reliable. I got different quotes for feature requests all a bit messy.
Chatblazer - $20pm/ or buy script. Good. No vb integration, clunky layout, very good features. Multiple rooms, can control access by usergroup, picshare, mini whiteboard, moderated chat etc. Fairly stable. Voice is add-on and expensive.
Talkingcommunities - $40pm excellent voice, integrated browser, whiteboard. Only one room, multiple in development.
addonchat $75pa - Neat textchat with design features, good for backup.

Ive investigated and tested practically everything else around over 3 years! Around 100 different chats!

My recommend is Visichat. Newcomer on the market very keen, excellent fast actually intelligent support!!!!
Integrates with VB $95/ $200. This allows complete custom design. Alternatively hosted version from $15 -- $80pm depending on concurrent users.

Masses of features ALL INCLUDED no hidden extras! Full demo on site + admin demo.
Multiple rooms, control access per user, (per usergroups in dev. but this is for hosted w/o vb integration; if you vb integrate use vb usergroups) Guests, registered users etc options.
Voice incl. handsfree, webcam, text, avatars, transcript, picshare, fileshare, the usuals (smilies font etc) Private chats in separate windows/ private voice. Typing indicator, mic indicator, who's online indicator - members list up to 100 most recent joined on tab.
Design is compact and user friendly, very intuitive. Admin interface ditto with loads of options to toggle stuff on/off. Hardly needs documentation as it's good interface design.
I want a few more features which they are doing this month like option for mod control on who speaks, better integration for mp3, mod leading browser page.

They also do a basic 3D room, a site support messenger etc.
Also I'm talking to them about a desktop instant messenger for me.

I'm very happy with them but would like to make it clear that in recommending them highly after all my long searches I am NOT a member of www.gchats.com the company, nor do I get commission for recommending them! Just a satisfied client. I was meaning to write in about them but was busy then saw this thread.

There is also Flasherize.

Flasherize looks cute. If money is tight, this is a reasonable option for a text chat.
No webcam. No voice.
No transcript except for admin.

Private chat is clunky - you have to fill in the exact name of user in a form to request chat instead of clicking user's name.
URLs have to be specially configured on a button to be clickable.
Private chat / URLs would make this a fiddly slow chat to use.

But can design to fit your site and has standard features.
Basically a nice text chat that integrates with VB.

Could be one to watch if it develops.

Flashchat has several addons for vbulletin integration, like who's chatting on forum home and vbadvanced.

Thanks everyone! I haven't checked out Flasherize or Visichat yet, so I'll do that right now:)

In the meantime, has anyone heard of (and/or had experience with) flashcoms?

http://www.flashcoms.com/

what are your thoughts on them? They look like they have a nice package. Kinda pricey, but like I said before, the money isn't really an issue. I'm more concerned with having a straight forward and intuitive interface for my community which I really like about flashcoms. I'm talking to them now about integration with vBulletin and they seem to be dancing around that question a little bit. They said they have an integration module for vBulletin and it works great, but I specifically asked about 3.7 beta 3 and they didn't answer that question...

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Hey Shanj,

I'm checking out visichat right now. It looks really sweet! The first thing that I noticed though is that it is embedded in the page. Is there anyway to get it to open up in a new window by itself (not within a vBulletin page)?

Yes no problem it does full page.
It's just default as embedded.
Dunno how you do it as I have a hiosted version and Majid the cute guy who runs it does it all for me. But he'll tell you how.

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Flashcoms looks very good. I think it's a very close deal between visichat and flashcoms.
It's not as simple as the other comparisons. Needs a detailed check.
I will go through them both and send a report.

Hi Shanj,

How is the integration with Visichat for VB? It says on their site that it's possible but do they charge extra for this or is it built in or will they just do it for you if you purchase their product?

Thanks!

I was quoted $50 to do it for me if I bought the code.

But I ended up opting to duplicate the accounts instead for various complicated reasons to do with running a specialised project.

I've tried a number of different chat clients but about a year ago bought 123flashchat. I went with their hosted chat rather than host it on my own site. It integrates very nicely with my forum and has been fantastic. My members use it a lot and I have never regretted spending the money and finally getting something that works very well without hogging my recourses. I highly recommend it. Yes, it is a little more money up front but well work it for me.

Thanks dknelson!

123flashchat is actually what I'm trying out now. I have my own host for it, so we're running into a couple of small problems, but 123flashchats seems to be really nice and helpful in getting this up and running. To tell you the truth, I haven't bought it yet, I'm just testing out the demo. So far though, I'm really impressed with their customer service, their addons, and overall business! I hope that once we get the software up and running it's as pleasing as the rest of my experience with them:)

FYI, for anyone reading this thread, DO NOT try flashcoms, at least if you intend to do the hosting and integration yourself.

We tried flashcoms out (bought the software because they didn't have a demo to try out) and we had an absolutely horrible experience! Although it looks nice, user friendly and easy to integrate with vb (as we were told prior to purchasing), shortly after we purchased it, we quickly discovered that they seem to be only after your money because anytime you have a question regarding integrating with vb (because their documentation for integrating with vb absolutely sux!) they push the paid integration services down your throat and only half-ass answer your question(s).

There were many questions that I asked prior to purchasing in regards to integrating and all questions were answered in a reassuring manner, but once you purchase it, everything changes. What makes it worse is that if you are not satisfied with their product, they refuse to give you your money back (we paid $268) even though they have no return policy listed online. This is all as of about 1/29/08, so if you have experience with this software and see things change since then, by all means reply to this thread and let us all know. I'm just letting the community know my own personal experience.

dknelson and sweeps78 - re 123flashchat - did you guys buy the license plus the hosting? What does the license actually buy you, as you're hosted by them? It's not clear at all what added incentive it gives me, other than lower monthly hosting fees. Is that basically it?? If I do buy a license....is it mine forever, or does it require renewal fees every year?

How can I get chat transcripts at a later date after the main chat session has ended? In other words, are off-line transcripts available - if so, in what form? A downloadable link, plain text, CSV? How long are they made available?

Finally, how is the customization actually handled, is it implemented and hosted by them as well? Is it something I can do without having to pay them additional $$?

How is their support response times? What have you found the best method to get a hold of support - phone, email, IM?

Thanks for both your reviews so far.

I have flashchat installed, but recently I've been surprised that my users seem to prefer the shoutbox. Probably something to do with them not feeling obligated to stick around.

I announced I'm uninstalling chat with the 3.8 upgrade and nobody seemed to mind.

Could anyone tell me what they had to do in order to get 123FlashChat integrated and working with vBulletin?

I was able to run it just fine on my server by itself, but then once I integrated it into my forum (setup auto-login and added statistics), nothing seems to be working:(

I'm using 123FlashChat with vB for one main reason: server load. The 123FlashChat has and server included and in my test tha majority of Chat Rooms are simply inusable in my dedicated server, with more than 15-20 users chattings. With 123FlashChat I already had 30 or more with no significant change in the server load.

I think the price of 123FlashChat is mainly for this: the server.

And my users love it :D

yeah, from my own testing (not a whole lot, but at least a significant amount) I found that 123FlashChat is very fast & responsive.

Not if I read it correctly. Their cheapest server is $10/month (50 users). No word on what would happen if a 51st user were to try to join.

At $200 (50 users) and $100 for add-on modules, this product clearly isn't for everyone.

I wish I would have seen this thread about 2 weeks ago. I am having the same issues with flashcoms right now. I must admit, the application itself is great and seems to work well. The integration, just to reiterate, is non existent without modification which is how I found this thread. I need help, the core seems like it is there but something is not working right.

hey goblues,

I seriously suggest that you don't waste any more time trying to get flashcoms to integrate with vBulletin. I'm sure it is possible as I got REALLY close, but it's such a pain in the ass and the documentation is so piss poor, that I don't recommend anyone to try it until Flashcoms decides to get their head out of their asses and put some decent documentation out. Paying that kind of money for that pathetic of documentation is absurd.

My rant over though, I'd suggest contacting 2checkout.com for a possible refund, who is the company that Flashcoms uses for their checkout, at least at the time when I ordered. They were really cool and helpful to me when I contacted them.

However, I noticed that Flashcoms added a Terms and Conditions page since I was refunded, so 2checkout might not be able to refund your money. I'd still check though, because it doesn't hurt to check.

Good luck, and please keep us updated on this thread with your latest news.

I am going to try jpilot, an IRC chat program. I have it regged from about 4 years ago and just upgraded it. Currently, I use Flashchat but decided to go back to jpilot. The new beta 3 version is all newly designed and looks to incorporate into many different sites better.