[chantotchi]

An interesting idea... Though then we still have the problem of people being able to create new accounts to avoid being blocked from chat. The only way that would work is if we were to take the opposite approach and members must be APPROVED before they can enter chat. This way if you cause problems then you lose the privilege to join chat until you have shown that you are behaving enough to be allowed back in. This would, of course, block all new members from chat until they asked to be approved and a senior guide or I allowed them in.

I like this idea! I'm pretty sure it will keep control over mean people that try to use TamaChat.

[Admin]

I guess it would work, against certain people. But when that is put in place, would EVERY current member have to get approved? How long would the process take if that was the case?

Not sure how that would work at first... I guess it would take some experimenting to see what works best.

So how often would you need to approve users to join? Would it stick once you approved them?

I could shutter a Captcha before entry... Then Logging in to the Chat-Room logs your entry inside and how long you stay inside...

This would be an ongoing process where new members have to ask to be let into chat first and then wait to be approved. It would slow things down a little there is no doubt. But the hope would be that people are more inclined to behave if they know they have to ask again to be let back in (and risk being told no).

This wouldn't be a captcha... You already have to do that to become a member so that is the only time it is needed. Captchas are to stop bot from spamming forums all the time. We don't usually see spambots in chatrooms...

[SailorRosette]

True, true...

My thought was when the captcha was used. It would log the user at what time they appeared in the chatroom. Then if an issue occurs say 12:30pm... you can find what users were inside the chatroom at that time if a serious issue occurrs... like a fight or something.

But then again Captchas aren't for chatrooms... just anti-spam.

[Fer Sure]

I think that closing the chat is a very bad idea.

I'd probably quit, along with some of my other friends, and the site would go downhill, as others have already said. The chat is great. It'd be unfair to close the chatroom on account of just a few people who abuse the chatroom.

The multiroom thing seems like a good idea, but others would go and annoy the people in another room, but I'd still like something like that if possible

Just a question, did the old chat really lag that bad? I mean, it was fine for me.

[nekopan]

I was thinking of some ideas to improve TamaChat. I haven't experienced any problems with trolls or anyone annoying though.

Solution 1: Invisible Mods. Mods will be able to enter the chat room without the (ModUsernameHere) has entered the chat room message coming up. The mods can then take action against disruptive users and not be harassed in the process.

Solution 2: User Warnings. Users will have a certain number of warnings given to them for bad behaviour and then kicked out of the room. Sorry for it being so similar to chantochi's idea,maybe we could pair them up!

Solution 3: Banned from TamaChat! If a user is very disruptive many times,they will be banned from TamaChat forever and can't got back in.

These are my ideas for improving TamaChat and hopefully they will be looked at by the great and wonderful Admin!

[tamaturtle]

I don't think the chat should be closed down. It's a shame that the option of having seperate rooms isn't going to be availible. Far too often have I seen people not wanting to talk about tamas being annoyed by people who do, and vice versa. Apart from having seperate room, I can't think of a way around this other than having two chatrooms...

In my opinion, the old chat wasn't at all bad. The only problem I noticed was the 'glitch' which would allow normal members to create their own rooms, but now, again only in my opinion, that wasn't a bad thing at all in cases such as the one said above. What else was wrong with old!TC?

[SailorRosette]

I was thinking of some ideas to improve TamaChat. I haven't experienced any problems with trolls or anyone annoying though.

Solution 1: Invisible Mods. Mods will be able to enter the chat room without the (ModUsernameHere) has entered the chat room message coming up. The mods can then take action against disruptive users and not be harassed in the process.

Solution 2: User Warnings. Users will have a certain number of warnings given to them for bad behaviour and then kicked out of the room. Sorry for it being so similar to chantochi's idea,maybe we could pair them up!

Solution 3: Banned from TamaChat! If a user is very disruptive many times,they will be banned from TamaChat forever and can't got back in.

These are my ideas for improving TamaChat and hopefully they will be looked at by the great and wonderful Admin!

Agreed, Well put.

[Admin]

Solution 1: Invisible Mods. Mods will be able to enter the chat room without the (ModUsernameHere) has entered the chat room message coming up. The mods can then take action against disruptive users and not be harassed in the process.

Solution 2: User Warnings. Users will have a certain number of warnings given to them for bad behaviour and then kicked out of the room. Sorry for it being so similar to chantochi's idea,maybe we could pair them up!

Solution 3: Banned from TamaChat! If a user is very disruptive many times,they will be banned from TamaChat forever and can't got back in.

Thanks for your ideas. Unfortunately:
Solution 1: "Invisible" mods are not available for us in the chat service we use. I know that I have logged in using another account many times so that I can interact with users and see how they behave when somebody from TT staff are not around. That's about as invisible as you can get. This also does not address the problem o not having the ability to have a mod in the chatroom at all times.

Solution 2: Chatters are already receiving warnings using the TT karma system when they misbehave in chat.

Solution 3: We do ban users from chat but some keep coming back with new accounts and continue to cause problems. This is why I am considering needing to be approved before you can get into chat. It would at least close the new account loophole to avoid bans.

What else was wrong with old!TC?

I too wish separate rooms was an available feature. Unfortunately this is not the case. The old chat system had many bugs like the one that let chatters create rooms when they werent supposed to be able to. Flashchat has also not been updated recently and so it becomes a security risk having buggy software that i not keeping up with new security threats. But even more important is that chat was slowing the whole site down because it kept the database tied up. This is why I switched the service to the current one because it is affordable and does not harm our server any (and lets it focus on just being faster to load pages).

[tamaturtle]

So, if we're talking about the approval thing... I remember that in the room making 'glitch' of TC old, you could make password protected rooms. We could go with a password system here, and if someone got 'banned'... well, changing the password and sending the new one out to all the members would be the only way to do it. Thank god for mass PM. But then, how would you stop people giving banned members the new password? Other than that, this could work well, in my opinion.

[Ginny Tonic]

I don't really count as a TC!Regular anymore, but I'd be really sad to see TamaChat! go. I know the drama and rude users are a problem - they always have been, but I doubt TC's the only chat site to get that trouble but I'm going to quote a friend here (lolol Kelsey); "For me at least it was how I annoyed my parents at an early age met all of you and it’s kind of stupid to deny other kids that ability,"

I met some amazing friends in TC, and I would feel terrible if other younger kids didn't have that ability.

I'm not gonna lie, I was probably one of the rude users at one point or another, but I'd hate to see TamaTalk lose TC, and while I don't love the idea of having to get approval to enter the chat (how would that work, btw?), it seems like one of the only options. .o.;

Honestly, I wish the Flashchat was an option (who would have thought we'd miss it XD) because when I DID come back to chat in TC with some other older regulars, we got yelled at because we didn't want to talk about tamagotchis. The two rooms usually solved that. xD

[Admin]

I think you pretty much nailed the main problem with a password protected chat since you can not stop others from passing out the password.

@Ginny: i agree with the benefits of being able to make good friends through chat... It is the main reason i have always been a supporter of chatrooms. But we have to find a way to balance things out for the staff as well as all members here.

The way approvals would work is this... You sign up for TT and you automatically are in the members group You ask for approval to enter chat (not sure how but maybe a by pm or by posting to a topic or forum or something). Somebody looks at your request and moves you to members+ group (or something like that). The chat room knows that only members+ can enter chat so approved people can enter and chat away forever. People who are not in members+ see a message saying they can not enter and please ask for permission. If a members+ person starts to regularly cause problems and abuse mods and such then they are moved back to the members group so they lose the ability to enter chat. These people can ask again but would likely not be let back in unless they change their behaviors. In all honesty, it would be kind of a pain to manage approvals and stuff... The payoff isthat it addresses the concerns with people not respecting a ban. I think it might address all of my concerns with keeping chat open. We'd have to try it out and see how well it works though.

Any thoughts?

[ZOOMrocks]

Considering Ginny basically quoted my thoughts on getting rid of the chat (lol hi Ginny), and as much as I think an approval system would (in theory) get rid of the problems of rude members, I think that if an approval system were to be put in place, it would not change the fact that people who were denied chatting rights would still be able to register new accounts to have a 'clean slate' and be able to enter the chat again once that new account was approved. Not to mention that like you said, Admin, having to manage approvals and stuff would be a huge pain.

[Admin]

The chance to start over with a clean slate is true... But it also gives moderators the chance to see if the member is one who has been there before. Or maybe a clean slate is a ood thing and the person is less likely to misbehave... May be wishful thinking.

[SailorRosette]

Admin, I would be worried that people asking for permisson to enter chat would begin a spam set of its own. (In/From a Forum, and it would spam your Inboxes... unless you made another account to ask straight permission from)

It would seem (more then?) one person would need to remain "active" for a while at a time... I know people have a job/other things they need to do.... I see people in Tama-Chat all day... In and out, multiple times...

What about people who leave Tamatalk open... and leave the Tama-Chat open all the time? If they did something wrong... If they didn't leave/turn off/ close internet/ the computer.... Would they be actually closed out of the chat? (Locked out/Cannot message in the chat room) Or would they be in there as long as they remained in the chat? (and possibly still able to chat)
Or would you need to set a time limit of not messaging/sitting idle and be removed from chat?

I know some TamaTalk users do, but I figure the people who do aren't breaking the rules... To my knowledge.

Just pouring my questions out. Trying to think of things maybe you haven't thought of...

Edited by SailorRosette, 17 August 2011 - 06:35 PM.

[Admin]

I still have not worked out all the details and such about this. My current thinking is there would be one forum that people can post a new topic to and ask for access to chat. People would then be having to wait to be approved. So, yes, there would be a wait for people once they ask for approval. Once they are approved they can access chat whenever they want for as long as they are a member of TT (unless they cause lots of problems and have access to chat taken away).

As far as what happens if they leave their window to TT open goes... Nothing else about chat would change. Once you are approved you can chat whenever you want... You dont have to be approved each time you want to go into chat. You have to be approved once and then chat can be accessed like it is now.

The extra work is in approving new people only. Who knows... I may think it is realistic now and then hate how it works after one month/week/day. I just don't know of another way to keep chat open for people to enjoy and use while also needing to stop troublemakers from ruining it for everyone and giving guides and me a headache.

[SugaryGoesRAWR]

I don't really count as a TC!Regular anymore, but I'd be really sad to see TamaChat! go. I know the drama and rude users are a problem - they always have been, but I doubt TC's the only chat site to get that trouble but I'm going to quote a friend here (lolol Kelsey); "For me at least it was how I annoyed my parents at an early age met all of you and it’s kind of stupid to deny other kids that ability,"

I met some amazing friends in TC, and I would feel terrible if other younger kids didn't have that ability.

I'm not gonna lie, I was probably one of the rude users at one point or another, but I'd hate to see TamaTalk lose TC, and while I don't love the idea of having to get approval to enter the chat (how would that work, btw?), it seems like one of the only options. .o.;

Honestly, I wish the Flashchat was an option (who would have thought we'd miss it XD) because when I DID come back to chat in TC with some other older regulars, we got yelled at because we didn't want to talk about tamagotchis. The two rooms usually solved that. xD

The above is pretty much my opinion.

But to note; I'm one of the more 'well known/liked' people on chat, adding to that the dozens of friends I have.
All the people I have and hang out with.. they're important to me, and they actually play a huge part in my life.
Chat is one of my only means of contact with them. And even, they said if chat got taken down, they'd leave the site'
I wouldn't leave.. but it wouldn't be the same without them.
I really don't wanna let that all go.

Edited by SugaryGoesRAWR, 17 August 2011 - 07:35 PM.

[SailorRosette]

I still have not worked out all the details and such about this. My current thinking is there would be one forum that people can post a new topic to and ask for access to chat. People would then be having to wait to be approved. So, yes, there would be a wait for people once they ask for approval. Once they are approved they can access chat whenever they want for as long as they are a member of TT (unless they cause lots of problems and have access to chat taken away).

As far as what happens if they leave their window to TT open goes... Nothing else about chat would change. Once you are approved you can chat whenever you want... You dont have to be approved each time you want to go into chat. You have to be approved once and then chat can be accessed like it is now.

The extra work is in approving new people only. Who knows... I may think it is realistic now and then hate how it works after one month/week/day. I just don't know of another way to keep chat open for people to enjoy and use while also needing to stop troublemakers from ruining it for everyone and giving guides and me a headache.

I meant people with Previledges removed who leave the window open... If they come back... will all the previledges be removed fairly quick or will it take place after they close window... etc.

What about ONE forum. Only one place people can ask... Then it would be like a list of users added/given chat previlages and it can be easy to see whom it was given to. (I'm sure people would still make multiple forums asking to be in or why they cannot get in... etc... Like people were when Tamatown was down... Regardless of the knowing it was down...)

Then it would be more originaized and faster so the mods/guides can find the new potential tama-chat users that want to enter it. It would be one place, one list and it would be simple to find the user again if they did something against the rules... Like a light switch.

Edited by SailorRosette, 17 August 2011 - 08:06 PM.

[Admin]

Not sure how quickly it bans somebody who is currently in chat actually. We can test it to see.

I was thinking along the same lines as you... One forum where people submit requests.

[SailorRosette]

Not sure how quickly it bans somebody who is currently in chat actually. We can test it to see.

I was thinking along the same lines as you... One forum where people submit requests.

That duration of how long it will take into effect kinda worries me a bit if we go that direction. Because if it doesn't take effect fairly soon, the issue can get worse... that sort of thing. But I'm sure it will be pretty instant.

I figured you were, but I was just making sure it was out there.

What about a small symbol/small image (about the size of most of the emoticons or smaller) to allow other users to know you are "Tama-Chat Enabled" ? Instead of a member+ since people might think its an upgrade to something. Since some members are Angelgotchi, Lifetime Angelgotchi, Guides, etc... (Like a smile or something)

Which, you could add:
a Smile for Enabled
a General face for Not Applied/Activated
a Sad Face for Unable for Chat

Or something else simple that can be easily veiwed.

Edited by SailorRosette, 17 August 2011 - 08:48 PM.

[Admin]

Is anyone opposed to doing a trial run of the approved chatter idea? I think the only way to test it out is to try it and see how it works.