41 replies to this topic

[Sakura Blossoms]

Recently a vote to re-new the subscription for LiveChat (which costs a hefty amount of money to maintain), was taken up by the Mods and Admins of this site. The majority voted in favour of renewing LC, even though it costs such a heavy fee, and once again Smiter is the one having to foot that bill.

I was one of those who was for the continuation of LiveChat on this forum, but in the intervening week since that vote was taken, I have begun to have my doubts as to the continued existence of LC on this site. LiveChat is a wonderful tool for members to get to know each other better, and to make and strengthen friendships made on this site.

However...LC is not being utilized to its fullest potential. A couple of other Mods mentioned, when the vote was being taken, that people hardly seem to use LC anymore. It will be open for hours sometimes, and only a very *small* handful of people will enter for the *entire* session, and then if people *are* in there hardly anyone talks.

For $125 dollars a year coming out of someone's own pocket, I'm sorry but that just is not acceptable enough. The bottom line is that LiveChat needs to start showing that it is still worth the price that is being paid for it.

So, in other words people...use it or lose it.

[Zatren6]

I would go into LC more if it was open more (I know it was open last night, I entered, then remembered I had to do something then left @_@)...it only seems to be open once every week or two nowadays. I mean, I bet it wasn't active last night, since it was around 7 on a Friday, and most people are out. I know the mods are busy with life and all, and I'm of course not blaming them at all, in any shape or form, but its hard to have an active LC when its not open often...as for people talking a bunch, it seems to me that dead LC is sometimes inevitable, its just a phase with people chatting. Sometimes its going nuts, and sometimes its not. Just happens. But I don't wanna see LC go, when I go in there its always fun, certainly a part of H&E I don't want to lose.

[Sakura Blossoms]

The reason LC hasn't been opened as often is because when it *is* open no one comes in, or they don't talk when they *do* enter.

After a while the Mods and Admins start to feel like they are wasting their time opening the chat when it's going to just be dead anyways.

LC was opened from 7pm until almost midnight, and I can count on one hand how many people came in, and it wasn't as if H&E didn't have any members on. The site was *full* of members on the forum...just practically none in LC. So, if no one comes into LC the Mods see very little reason to open and monitor it if it's just going to be ignored, and so we all go on and do something else more productive.

LC will start to be open more often, mainly between the hours of 7-8pm to 12-1am. Once again, people need to start utilizing LC more often again, as it's completely unfair to have Smiter paying so much money for something that's barely used, even when it *is* open.

[Saku-chan]

Shauna, I already offered to help pay once I get a credit card and can Paypal.

Plus, this is a slow time over workweeks and school not a lot of people use it RIGHT NOW, but over the summer, there'll be a rush.

[Hefster]

Um, just a question since I am fairly new here but there are other options to LC that doesn't require payment. I wish my aging brain cells would remember but I implemented a live chat system with my old guild forum back in the days (although i used phpbb). And at the top of my head, there is always IRC, which is free and can be moderated easily as well.

[Yoko]

I'd totally help pay if I had the money, but work has been really, really slow. D: I only worked like.. five days in the past two weeks. xD; As it is right now, I only have 20 bucks. Got more yesterday in my paycheck, but it had to go towards other things. x.x

And yesterday I couldn't have been in LC because my lack of sleep got the best of me. D8

[Onionhead Attacks]

I can't say much about not using LC since most of the time when I come home nowadays I'm completely exhausted and hardly feel like talking. However, when weekends and vacation roll around I'm all up for chatting... except... I realized that not many people have the free time like I do xD

[Sakura Blossoms]

Shauna, I already offered to help pay once I get a credit card and can Paypal.

Plus, this is a slow time over workweeks and school not a lot of people use it RIGHT NOW, but over the summer, there'll be a rush.

I'd totally help pay if I had the money, but work has been really, really slow. D: I only worked like.. five days in the past two weeks. xD; As it is right now, I only have 20 bucks. Got more yesterday in my paycheck, but it had to go towards other things. x.x

And yesterday I couldn't have been in LC because my lack of sleep got the best of me. D8

This thread is only meant to raise awareness for our members, that there is a serious issue with the member attendance in LiveChat. It has nothing to do with paying money for the chat, as I don't have any influence over that, and you'd have to speak with Smiter himself about that.

Besides the subscription to re-new LiveChat has *already* been paid. This thread is geared towards making sure that the *members* start utilizing the LC as it is now, or it might not be here come next year.

And during this past summer LC was quite dead as well, which is pretty sad as it was the *summer*. And the same excuse used then was 'that is was summer, and people had *tons* of stuff to do, and so no one had much time to be online to chat.'

So, if even the summer was slow, and that 'theoretically' should have been the busiest time, then anytime *other* than summer is going to be incredibly slow...like now...and for perhaps the rest of the year. So, see the problem of having a chatroom, that hardly anyone comes in to chat?

Again as I said, this thread is only meant to let our members know that there *is* a problem with LC attendance, as we have already voted to let LC remain. But, it needs to start being opened more by the Mods, and then *used* more by our members. Or otherwise when the vote comes up again next year, and if LC is still under-performing, then the vote to keep LC around may very well be no.

Um, just a question since I am fairly new here but there are other options to LC that doesn't require payment. I wish my aging brain cells would remember but I implemented a live chat system with my old guild forum back in the days (although i used phpbb). And at the top of my head, there is always IRC, which is free and can be moderated easily as well.

This option came up in our discussions, and we were made aware that you in fact *can't* moderate very well with IRC, which would be a big problem.

[Hefster]

This option came up in our discussions, and we were made aware that you in fact *can't* moderate very well with IRC, which would be a big problem.

Ah but you can. Besides using a channel bot once it's registered that can give automatic access to admins/mods, and even members, someone who runs a computer 24/7 can use a scripted bot to enforce the PG13 rules and what not.

[Sakura Blossoms]

Ah but you can. Besides using a channel bot once it's registered that can give automatic access to admins/mods, and even members, someone who runs a computer 24/7 can use a scripted bot to enforce the PG13 rules and what not.

Hmm, I don't know very much about IRC, but your details about it make it sound like a viable alternative. I'll ask Smiter what he thinks about it when we speak again later

[Hefster]

Hmm, I don't know very much about IRC, but your details about it make it sound like a viable alternative. I'll ask Smiter what he thinks about it when we speak again later

If you have questions, just hit me up any time. I am not as versed with IRC anymore since I havent used in a few years but I used to live in it.

[Angel]

I'm sorry I'll use it more I swear *tears*

That aside I remember asking about donations but Smiter said something about not wanting our money...I may be wrong about that since It was many moons ago

[Tsunade]

HONESTLY LOL!

Okay okay.. I know this is serious business cause you know it costs money in all. BUT WHATS WITH ALL THE DRAMA LLAMAZ SHAUNA?!

Trying to make people appreciate you more....? Which is odd cause you don't seem to be shelling out money to help Smiter pay for LC. I'm SURE EVERY ONE appreciates his kindness.

I understand that the add on is expensive, but hun THERE IS 265 DAYS IN A YEAR. I think that it'll fully pay it's self out in the end.

And you make it SOUND LIKE it's ONLY THE MEMBERS FAULT FOR NOT COMING IN.

You know what? IT's BOTH OUR FAULTS.

And really.... DO YOU REALISE HOW MANY TIMES I"VE YELLED AT RICK AND TRUE TO OPEN LC?

And that thing about the summer Shauna..? Most of H&E is made up of High schoolers and University kids. PRIME PART TIME JOB SEASON IS IN THE SUMMER. Of course everyone's not gonna have time to USE IT THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO BE USED.

Anyway I'm off~ <3

[Nick Soapdish]

I understand that the add on is expensive, but hun THERE IS 265 DAYS IN A YEAR. I think that it'll fully pay it's self out in the end.

And a hundred bonus days?

[Rix the Very Affectionate Lego!]

I will give my blood, sweat, and tears for this chat!??!! brb getting $125 prolly take me a month max.

[Nick Soapdish]

Hey now! No donating plasma to keep LC around.

I think that what Shauna is saying is that it's here for the next year, but that it needs to see more usage (from both mods and members) if it'll stay around beyond that.

[Hefster]

And a hundred bonus days?

I believe that person meant working days. Not sure about the US but Germany has 254 official working days this year. That number excludes Satursdays, Sundays, and Holidays.

[krisk]

:O

hmm.. well i've actually thought about the lack of livechatting inorite? me? lololforever and i've thought about something that might help remedy the problem; movie nights. Maybe having a poll each week on a number of movies, voting and setting up a day and time for everyone would maybe help the flicker of the chat!fire goin?

idk something i'll throw out since hef started trying to fix it XP

Um, just a question since I am fairly new here but there are other options to LC that doesn't require payment. I wish my aging brain cells would remember but I implemented a live chat system with my old guild forum back in the days (although i used phpbb). And at the top of my head, there is always IRC, which is free and can be moderated easily as well.

yeaaaah! That's something i was thinking about too! :D

i meet up with my own "guild" every friday sometimes and we end up just using any old chat system to hold our "meetings"! It's completely convenient because we all get a notice to the when's and what's of the scheduled "meeting" XP

so in terms of h&e we can just have a thread for when it's open and the like, or maybe we could get that "Announcements" feature i've seen while surfing a few sites here and there.
And the problem of having it modded was something a bit more drastic-- the mod (whomever started the chat) would just kick by impulse if someone was being a stupid XD

thoooo looks like you've got something way better cos automatic modding is something that would help a bunch if problems arose 8D

And really.... DO YOU REALISE HOW MANY TIMES I"VE YELLED AT RICK AND TRUE TO OPEN LC?

FAIL ON THEM.

*BLUDGEONS*

[Jwolf0]

FAIL ON THEM.

*BLUDGEONS*

And this is why I couldn't be a mod. Heh.

But while the LC isn't end-all and be-all of H&E, it IS a very big part of it. Even with as little as I come on here, never mind use it I'd hate to see it go, at least not without a replacement. If it means my happy butt has to wrestle the computer away from the kids on a weekend night, I'll do it every once in a while.

Edited by Jwolf0, 08 February 2009 - 04:02 PM.

[True]

Well just to make it clear we still have a year before the subscription runs out on February 10th 2010 so there isn't any reason to worry or panic that LC will all of a sudden be gone right now. This is just a heads up to let the members know we will take into account how much it is begin used and whether it is in the best interest to renew the subscription next year.

I myself was actually of those or more like the only one that was unsure of renewing LC this year since I had come to notice its decrease in usage ever since I started using it myself. I wondered whether it was right to pay a hefty sum for something that is rarely used. However, my thoughts were persuaded and I realized LC is a an important part of the site and is a way for members of our community to better know each other outside of the forums and a great tool to interact and chat with others and thus bringing our community closer.

Now while the money is an issue, regular members don't have to worry about it and that will be taken care of by the moderation team. So as far as donations go that can be decided by Smiter if he says so since he is the one paying for it. But for now you don't need to worry about it.

We have taken IRC into consideration and Rick and myself have even worked on setting up a possible channel for H&E. We will have to go through all the steps to insure that it is setup perfectly before deciding to test it as an alternative. However, since LC has already been renewed its best that we focus on that first.

Basically we will evaluate LC's usage over this year and see whether or not it is worth it to renew next year. Depending on how often it is opened and used by members decides its worth and existence on H&E.

So whenever you see the LiveChat open up top make sure to stop by in!

FAIL ON THEM.

*BLUDGEONS*

>.>

<.<

*Gives a SUPER WEDGIE*

|D