Chat Software Recommendations for 3.7

[dknelson]

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.

[sweeps78]

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.

[funkmeister]

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.

[Videx]

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.

[sweeps78]

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

[Deriel]

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

[sweeps78]

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

[Videx]

Originally Posted by Deriel

I'm using 123FlashChat with vB for one main reason: server load. The 123FlashChat has and server included

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.

[goblues]

Originally Posted by sweeps78

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.

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.

[sweeps78]

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.