Forum:Widgets? IRC?

Hey I'm not sure if you guys were acquainted with our original HoTD wikia page before a major theme change in all Wikia pages, but we used to have useful "widgets". There used to be a "chatbox" that we could all use, which I think was probably very useful as well as some other trivial stuff that you might need once in a while. I'm not sure if the function is still available, but if not, I'd like to try to establish an IRC channel where we can all chat on. I'd like to hear your opinions.Donutsonfire 01:28, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

Oh yeah Deadliest Fiction wiki has themMrPacheco101 01:47, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

I think an IRC would be a great idea, myself. I've gone to certain forums and their IRC channels are one of the highlights of the site, and everyone can just join and talk and chill~ I think it'd be a great idea for everyone to know each other better and talk anytime. Natalie1213 01:51, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

damn straight Natalie, but at DF wiki we hardly ever use it because we're just so accustom to talking on the blogsMrPacheco101 01:54, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

Haha! It's good to see the support already given! I personally am not too good at IRC...yet, but I've started experimenting with it and I have gone to various fansubber's irc, and they have all been very educational and fun experiences. I hope we can provide that sort of atmosphere if we make an IRC. Hopefully I'll either become a good IRC user or get someone who's experienced with IRC to run one for us? Any suggestions? Donutsonfire 01:58, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, well messaging works a bit faster than blogging, right? o: It's easier to communicate and maybe some people are more comfortable talking or expressing themselves in the chatroom rather than the public blog? Hmm, I'm not sure, maybe, but I do think that it's a really great idea to have a place where we can get together and talk about anything, not just HotD but a variety of things, and get to know each other~

Hmm, well, the forum i go to uses this, I'm sorry if it isn't much help, it's all I know: http://mibbit.com/

Hey! That could provide us all with a solution since I know many of us probably don't know how to use an IRC channel yet. Also, all of you would have to download an IRC chat cliet, which could be a bit of a hassle! I'll look into your option with the IRC options when I have time and everybody has seen this post.Donutsonfire 02:22, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

I say go for it if you want. The chatbox widget is no longer available, so having a new method for quick communication would be nice. If you need me, I may be able to help get it running. I have absolutely no experience in IRC, but I'm a fast learner. I mastered Wikia's html sytax fairly quickly, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just let me know if you want any help.Turambar1  02:26, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, well. Here's the page with instructions for that chat:

http://forums.khinsider.com/announcements/147192-join-khinsider-irc-webchat.html

We all pretty much use the first option. O : Whenever I've gotten into the chat, I don't need to download anything~ I'm not sure on how to make the chat itself, but that's what I know of like how to get in without downloading anything and some instructions. Natalie1213 02:30, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

Yeah I just read into making an IRC channel just now. It seems like a very laborious task, but I'm sure the results will be very rewarding. Turambar, I know how fast you've mastered the Wikia's html syntax, and I was actually waiting for your response :D I'm thinking since you already have connections with Torpedo Tits, perhaps we can create a joint IRC? I see many scanlators and fansubbers all have IRC, so why not kill 2 birds with 1 stone? I don't think I'll have the time to carefully set up an IRC, but if you are interested, then please go ahead.Donutsonfire 02:39, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

All right, I set up a chat we can use for now. I'm working on embedding a chatbox directly on the wiki, but I'm not sure if anything will be compatible with the Wikia layout. Come test it out so I'll know if it works. http://hotdwiki.cbox.ws/

Turambar1  04:37, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

Hmm thats a good idea! Although I think the message delivery might be a bit slow and you have "refresh" to see new messages. Hopefully, as you said, it'll be only temporary. I don't think we'll be able to embed anything on the Wikia page, so thats why I was thinking IRC.Donutsonfire 05:04, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

Yeah I've been looking into IRC. It could be hard to organize when people use different OS and browsers. We'll have to find a free client that is compatible with everything. I think I maybe able to do something on the wiki, but feel free to start working on the IRC if you want.Turambar1  05:13, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

Hmmm....so much hassle! Okay I should cram study for IRC now! Donutsonfire 05:32, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

There's really no rush. I probably won't work on this chat stuff again until this weekend. I have a busy two days coming up and there's a lot I need to get done.Turambar1  05:51, January 19, 2011 (UTC)

Okay, I don't think the IRC will be too complicated. However, I've also found a chat which can be embedded on the wiki so that a "Chat" option will show up at the top of every page. Basically, we could either have a separate chat for each page on the wiki, or have them all link to a single chat. I'm guessing the latter would be ideal for us. It's a MediaWiki extension, so there shouldn't be a problem with compatibility. The code is a little tougher than what I'm used to working with though.

As for the IRC, only one of us would need to download the software and find a server to set up our channel on. There are sites which allow you to chat on any channel through them, so nobody would have to download anything. There is some code you need to know if you're a founder or moderator, but it's pretty basic. I guess we should make the decision of which to use. I'm fine with either one, but I think a good idea may be to try the IRC first, and, if we don't like it or would rather have something embedded in the wiki, then we can use the chat extension. If we do the IRC, we;ll need to decide which of us will find a server and set up the channel. Let me know what you want to do.Turambar1  02:59, January 22, 2011 (UTC)

The problem with IRC is that a lot of users might not know how to use it, but it seems like the embedded chat will be a strain on you, so we don't have to use the embedded chat if you don't feel up to it. Personally, I'd choose embedded chat over IRC, but IRC provides a cleaner place to chat. I'm quite ambivalent I'm on the 2 actually. I don't mind which one we use, but I just don't want to cause too much problems for you to setup anything. I'd say we wait till we hear a response from other people first...Donutsonfire 19:07, January 22, 2011 (UTC)

Well after further investigation, I don't think we'll be able to use that MediaWiki extension. You have to be a system administrator to install new extensions, so we wouldn't be able to do it. I've been looking into other free "shoutbox" options, but you don't get many features without having to pay, and there's always the chance we won't be able to embed it like with the cbox one I tried. I can keep looking, but I'll wait to see what other people would prefer.Turambar1  22:33, January 22, 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the effort Turambar! I just really wanted to restore a "chatbox"-like function on here...and if you remember, it made things so much more easier and communication was almost instant. Maybe we can find a better solution to the embed option, but as far as it seems, we're kinda stuck on IRC. Not that I have anything against IRC, but I'm wondering who will take the time mastering all commands and running the server hardware.Donutsonfire 23:52, January 22, 2011 (UTC)

I've tried to embed several more chat boxes, but I just don't think Wikia is set up to allow it. It's a shame because I found some really good free ones. If you don't want to set up the IRC, I have no problem doing it. Just let me know and I'll get started.Turambar1  00:10, January 23, 2011 (UTC)

Well I don't want you wasting time setting up something that will take a while and only have like...5 users on it. That'll be quite pointless. I was thinking we push the idea of an IRC first, then if the response is positive, then it's green light. Its not that I don't want to do it, but I use a laptop and I don't think randomly shutting down is quite a good idea....Donutsonfire 00:23, January 23, 2011 (UTC)

We can wait if you want. I already downloaded the client, and all I have left to do is join a server and create the channel. I'll still keep trying to find a chat the can be embedded, but I don't think Wikia intended for people to use any extensions on their system that they don't already offer.Turambar1  00:39, January 23, 2011 (UTC)

All right, the IRC is ready to go if we decide to use it. I actually set up two; one on the server Wikia uses, and one on a server you can access without downloading a client. I won't be upset if we don't use them. It really didn't take much work. On the other hand, I'm still looking for a chat we can embed, so don't feel like you have to use the IRC channel.Turambar1  15:45, January 23, 2011 (UTC)