Chat Modifications - MGC Chatbox Evo

This mod is automatically compatible with vB3.6.x, vB3.7.x, vB3.8.x and vB4.x.x

Overview

MGC Chatbox Evo is the most ever installed chatbox for vBulletin !

It offers a new enhanced online experience to your members leading to increased time spent online of more than 25% by providing them with a new, more interactive, way to interact with each other.

• Important number of features
• High level of configurability to fit each users needs
• Channels system
• Many commands
• Bot system
• and more...

... makes MGC Chatbox Evo a must have for your forum !

Detailed features

Following is a non-exhaustive list:

• Simple install
• Ajax based with:
  • Fast and Intelligent chats retrieval through javascript calls to server files (refresh delay configurable per usergroup)
  • Edit/update by double-clicking on a chat
  • Interact on chats through menus and javascript
• Many usergroup permissions to limit features according to usergroups
• Full configuration of the chatbox display:
  Size, position on forum pages, editor layout (either top/bottom input or left/right textarea) and position, number of chats displayed, ...
• Full configuration of the chats display:
  Authorized bbcodes selection, date/time options, avatar display, ...
• Possibility to create channels (unlimited number) with multiple configuration options:
  • Warn user of new message when not active through blinking image and eventually sound notification
  • Possibility to select on which specific page each is displayed
  • Option to display the channel only for selected languages
  • Usergroup/User permissions to access the channel
• Many commands available with usergroup/user permissions to access them:
  • /me: well known IRC command
  • /del: remove shouts (different possibilities of removal)
  • /ignore: ignore shouts from another user
  • /ban: ban user from chatbox
  • /pm: send a private chat to another user
  • /announcement: modify the announcement on top of the chatbox
  • /slap: allow user to slap another user
  • /team: chats sending between specified usergroups
  • /l33t: I33t-ify a message
  • /banchan: ban user from specific channel [PRO only]
• Forum activity notifications system in the chatbox:
  • Different display options:
    • In the chatbox melted with chats
    • In the chatbox in a separate column
    • In the vB4 sidebar or a custom sidebar for vB3
  • Multiple notifications:
    • New thread creation
    • New post creation
    • Post thanked (Abe's)
    • New registrations (not included - separate product)
    • IBProarcade highscore (not included - separate product)
• Bot system with set of predefined trigger chat and corresponding answers and automatic bot chats [PRO only]
• Archive system with statistics as well as download and search capabilities
• Possibility to display the list of users online in the chatbox
• Force anynomous to enter a username before chatting if they can access the chatbox
• Antiflood system
• Private chats feature through PM in tabs
• Optional sound notifications
• Inactive mode feature for server load optimization
• User statistics display in posts and profile
• Chatbox statistics display on forumhome
• Create thread from a chat [PRO only]
• CMS Integration (not included - separate product)
  • vBAdvanced CMPS
  • vBulletin 4 CMS
• Importers from other chatbox systems:
  • cChatbox by Christrato [version 1.5]
  • Cyb - Chatbox by Cybernetec [version 2.3]
  • vBulletin 3.x Shoutbox 1.0 (AJAX) by DionDev [version 1.0]
  • Dream's Chatbox by Dream [version 2.1.1]
  • GSBOS by dinnerbone [version 1.0.5]
  • Inferno vBShout Lite 2.5.0 by Inferno Tech [version 2.5.1 lite]
  • vBShouts 2.0 by Zero Tolerance [version 2.0]
  • MGC Chatbox by MGC [version 1.5]

Install

Refer to the readme for the chatbox install.

Demo

Live demo on MGC Products forum

Languages

1. French
2. English
3. German [Not yet updated]
   
4. Serbian [Not yet updated]

Support

On my website mostly and in this thread

Int?gration

Integration in IBProarcade is described in the readme.
vBAdvanced CMPS and vBulletin 4 CMS integration are available as additional modules.

Compatibility

This hack is compatible with vB3.6.x, vB3.7.x, vB3.8.x and vB4.x.x

Changelog

First part:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....&postcount=221

Second part:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....postcount=5429

Third part:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....postcount=8469

How to set the channel images

Thanks to princeedwards for this little how to : click here

PRO version and additional addons available on my website

This mod is automatically compatible with vB3.6.x, vB3.7.x, vB3.8.x and vB4.x.x

[XiZa]

Also,

In safari (mac) private chats display like so: 06/05/2008 20:34From <lalala> (without the space between the date and from).

The private chat dialog also shows the text below it through, some sort of css error. It's the same in firefox mac. have not tested other browsers.

[XiZa]

And could you also tell me how to unignore and unban a user? Thanks

[XiZa]

I made a screenshot of the dialog box displaying incorrectly.

[soundbarrierpro]

What type of strain if any does this put against your bandwidth considering it's ajax? If this is used regularly will it cause significant use?

[VBDev]

Originally Posted by Playa82

oh, ok. but i got 0.4.0 installed. and i fixed it with the files 2 posts above ;-)

Those fixes should not be needed when using the 0.4.0 with the last vbulletin versions.

Originally Posted by johnban

No, I check and I have put

Minimum number of posts to use the chatbox --> 1
Minimum number of posts during the last 24H to use the chatbox --> 0

The count is not based on a number of posts since install, that's strange.

Can you make a screenshot of all usergroup permissions please.

Originally Posted by Tom S

I am also having troubles with the channels showing text instead of the .gif for team and pm. I noticed for the General channel that the image called for in the coding is not the same as the image name. I am having troubles getting the Gen channel to show anything. Could this be one of the issues or has it always been this way?

In the coding it calls for <img id="mgc_cb_evo_channel_$channel[chanid]_on"

But in my channel image directory, it is called mgc_cb_gen_channel_sel.gif.

Is the evo and gen confusing the program?

I may be way off base, learning the coding stuff.

Another thing that I have noticed is that images folder for vB has the small i, and with the folder in the download package has the large I (Images).

Tom S.

You need 3 images for a channel, they have the same name except the end :

• _sel
• _nosel
• _new

followed by the extension.

Originally Posted by XiZa

I've noticed that you are sending the entire contents of the chat table with each ajax request. I think it would be better if you only sent some sort of javascript array (json) with the new entries, and an empty response if no new messages were sent.

It will save on javascript processing (possibly javascript memory leakage as well) and on bandwidth considering this auto refreshes every x seconds.

Yes that's right I am sending the whole content.

It would indeed be perhaps better to send with the new entries.

However, imagine if a user remove a shout or ignore someone, then the need of a full reload is logical.

I have perhaps not had a good idea to code it like that but considering what I just said I don't see how I could do it in another way but perhaps you have another good suggestion ?

[VBDev]

Originally Posted by XiZa

Also,

In safari (mac) private chats display like so: 06/05/2008 20:34From <lalala> (without the space between the date and from).

The private chat dialog also shows the text below it through, some sort of css error. It's the same in firefox mac. have not tested other browsers.

You mean the menu ?

Even with the screenshot I don't understand what you mean.

I have a mac and have tested on safari but perhaps not since that change, please tell me how to reproduce it.

Originally Posted by XiZa

And could you also tell me how to unignore and unban a user? Thanks

You have to install the ban and ignore commands, then checks the help in the chatbox for more info

Originally Posted by soundbarrierpro

What type of strain if any does this put against your bandwidth considering it's ajax? If this is used regularly will it cause significant use?

The memory strain is not on server side but on user side.

However XiZa is right, it will use bandwidth but that amount is not that significant comparing to downloading a file for example

The use of the bandwith won't be that intensive.

[VBDev]

<font color="Red">Thanks to tekInside for his kind donation !
</font>

[XiZa]

Well,

You could add json commands like {command:'removeMessage': 112} and things like that to remove messages. But that would mean you would have to keep a log of removed messages.. and edited messages.. in separate tables since if you just send the last x messages you wouldn't know if they were deleted or edited.

Or perhaps just an extra column in the message table status: active, deleted, edited (perhaps a date value)

And if the user wants to ignore someone, then you can indeed respond with a full reload or just use client side javascript to remove the entries by that user if you kept that information available.

<tr id="message_y" class="user_x">

Also, when someone isn't online and you try to PM them, it states "that user doesn't exist". Think it would be better if you would say "the user isn't online".

Anyway, you have seen the popup dialog screenshot, will you be fixing that?

I also attached a pic about the spacing issue, small issue but would be better if fixed No space between date and "To/from" and after the name. Maybe if you used &nbsp; it would work better.

Also, a spelling error in the help: "usergroupds "

Edit: I would also love the ability to remove certain icons, like the button that empties the chat input field. And the ability to change the icon images.

Thanks

[XiZa]

One more question, I just noticed a different initial state (chat log) from two accounts. Is this a setting somewhere or a bug? If I go in safari to the archives I see all of it, but if I use my other user account in firefox, it only shows my posts I just made.

(Note that i am just testing this currently with only two users, offline)

[XiZa]

Also, the command syntax could possibly be made better?

Does vbulletin allow usernames that are numbers only? If not you could check if integer, its uid otherwise username.

Another error in the help:

/pm uname "userid"

should be "username"

I just checked and it doesn't appear that vbulletin blocks integer names..

Better syntax could be:

/ignore username
/unignore username
/ignore userid uid
/unignore userid uid

So only use a parameter (uid) to the more advanced option which I doubt many people will use anyway.

Don't require " " around the username unless there are spaces in the username. (then you could show an error mesage before sending the command to the server)