C'mon Internet Brands .. up the game won't you!

[Savoia]

There is some fairly sophisticed forum software entering the market these days including one with the ability to chat with other members who are logged on.

Can't we have something similar for PPRuNe?

[mad_jock]

We used to have it.

The very old one took tons of moderating.

Then when they got another one back nobody used it.

[PPRuNe Towers]

Chat was up for 5 years.

Tumbleweed city eventually.

[green granite]

When you say "the ability to chat with other members who are logged on." do you mean chat as in talk using a headset and microphone?

[mixture]

The very old one took tons of moderating.

Then when they got another one back nobody used it.

Yep. I remember those days !

If you think Jet Blast is bad, live chat was a pure recipe for disaster ! It was like a wild west in there !

[Savoia]

When you say "the ability to chat with other members who are logged on." do you mean chat as in talk using a headset and microphone?

No, as in the same as a chat box opens up in Gmail or FB so that when your 'friends' are logged-in you can send them a message and vice versa.

And why would private 'chats' between members require moderating?

[Whirlygig]

And why would private 'chats' between members require moderating? In my best Norfolk accent, you ain't be round these parts for long? Things can get quite nasty on Pprune; you won't know that if you've not been outside Rotorheads much - we're lovely and cuddly there, but the rest can be a wild place to be.

When chat was brought back, a few, including myself, used it but, after a while it fell into disuse because we all got to know each other and actually met in person and have each other's phone numbers.

To be honest, from my point of view, I don't want to "chat" to complete strangers 'cos I'm a grumpy old git. If you want to make contact with someone, send them a PM and take it from there.

Cheers

Whirls

[Savoia]

Whirlygig, thank you for filling-in some gaps!

Although I find it difficult to believe that you are a "grumpy old git" I do understand that there are many preferences among users but imagined that these could be catered for by modern mechanisms whereby it is possible to select whether one is 'visible' or indeed to simply ignore unwanted chats!

Chatting aside there is forum software which seems to be progressing beyond that which PPRuNe currently offers; the search software is wanting in my view and it is often more expedient to run the search on Google or Yahoo with the word pprune typed in!

There is still no facility to create 'draft' posts which one can work on at one's leisure and then post when ready, the spell-checker is not especially user-friendly, the mailbox limits are quite low and there are doubtless other areas in which improvements could be introduced.

Its just that my understanding is that PPRuNe's owners are the architects of vBulletin and one would have thought that they would want to showcase the latest in forum software advancements on their own sites!

[mutt]

the mailbox limits MAILBOX.............. is PPruneMail still working or are you talking about Private Message Mailbox.....

Mutt

[mixture]

Savoia,

The fact of the matter is .... why should IB be wasting their time reinventing the wheel when it comes to chat, when they should be focusing their efforts on improving the fundamental core of Prune'... the forum, which is creaking at the seams (cf. multiple recent stability issues, all sorts of weird and wonderful database problems etc. etc.).

If you want to live chat, there are many better tools out there. So just PM the people you want to get to know better and then chat with them on Skype (or other tool of your choice).

[Whirlygig]

Agreed with the Pprune search facility; it is woefully inadequate and where us old-timers encourage newer members to use the search function, one can understand a newbie's frustration when they ask the same questions as have been asked before.

I too, would appreciate a larger PM inbox :ok:

Cheers

Whirls

[mixture]

Whirlygig,

Little tip for next time you're telling newbies to search... point them in the direction of google and tell em' to use the "site:" prefix...thus.....

site:pprune.org ABCD

where ABCD is the string you want to search for.

You can then use Google's additional functionality to filter down by date range etc.

[BrandiNettIB]

Savoia - mixture is right. Due to PPRuNe's sheer size, our efforts now are devoted now to maintaining its stability and dealing with database issues.

As far as creating draft posts, simply using Notepad or other text editor would do the trick. Our inbox limits are actually higher than at most of our other vBulletin sites. The inbox is not meant as a substitute for the functionality of a proper email provider. Since the site is not meant to compete with Gmail/Skype/etc., members can and should use outside means - including meeting in person, the best way of all - to enhance their PPRuNe experience :)

[Whirlygig]

Thanks Mixture - I did know that but it's still another post to inform someone new of such rather than the straighforward method of searching. There is always the care that needs to be taken when typing the destructions otherwise you get
site :pprune with the colon p.

Cheers

Whirls