Experimenting with Chats

After a discussion at our annual meeting, I've spent just a bit of time trying to examine the MULTITUDE of options available for group chats. The one currently in use by the group is VERY functional, but also a bit clunky and quirky. So...I've been looking at other options.

I really like Skype for my own personal use. It is what I use to chat with clients back in the USA as well as to interface with other students in my online classes. I use the video, audio, and the old-fashioned chat features as well as playing the occasional online game with one of my grandchildren (Battleship and Chinese Checkers are favourites!) There are drawbacks, however, as you have to have an account, have the software loaded on your machine, and it is not available if you are at, say, a library or other public place.

Google Chat, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger...all are good options. However, the drawback continues to be that some of us have accounts in some, but not all of these. And creating an account just to be used 11 times a year seems a bit, well, wasteful.

So...I've found one that we can actually embed within the blogger website. I haven't gotten a chance to try it out much, but my first look at it lets me know that it is definitely in the running. As a start, I'm going to perform a short comparison between the existing chat client (bluechat) and the one I've embedded here in Blogger (chatroll).



First, I like that both clients are available in a separate window. The BlueChat version launches that way automatically, while in the Chatroll version, it is optional. There are a couple of advantages I see to the Chatroll version, however. First, I can see everyone that is signed in on the right-hand side of the chat window. Next, I can post clickable links if I want to share something with the others in the chatroom, and the link opens in another tab when clicked so the chat is not "lost". In the BlueChat window, the text seems to work in reverse, with the newest messages at the top while in the Chatroll version newer messages go to the bottom of the list. Finally, although this is quite juvenile, I nonetheless like it that I can type in :-) and it will turn into an emoticon in the Chatroll.



The downside is that Chatroll is free for up to 10 users, but costs $9/month for more. Okay, it's not a big downside, but I thought I should add it anyway.

Oh...I just noticed something else that may or may not be an advantage. Although I can't seem to clear off anything typed in the BlueChat window, I can hover and find a small red circle with a "-" sign in it to click and remove any items I want from the Chatroll window.

Looking forward to feedback on this one. Hope you'll try it out yourself, or better yet, drop me a line and invite me to chat with you on it to run it through it's paces! To use the new client, just click on the "Group Chat" tab at the top of this page. Happy Chatting!