Chat is Dead

[Zoop 8,384]

Still waiting for an invitation for the Skype Group .-.

 

I do apologize for the slight delay - I'll get you added to the group shortly~

 

if they even stayed longer but they only saw spam and they just left not wanting to see if any thing is actually going on

As someone that was often in the chat room - out of a sense of obligation more than any actual desire - nearly every day, for hours on end, I would like to throw out that, yes, it was as bad as it is being made out to be. Just my two cents.

 

[Tomtick 2]

Wow i used chat quiet a lot and made many friends on there but now its gone i will just have to deal with it i gues

[Stix the AppleDash lover 14]

well, this sucks really bad. I used chat to vent and have a good laugh but if mods think it's for the best, then hey, i won't argue, just be sad. at least we still have the skype group which is kinda the same.

[Swoop 2,279]

Well, with over 300 posts in just over 24 hours, I think it's about time we give this whole ordeal a bit of closure, considering that most have had the opportunity to convey their opinions by this point.

 

Still with us after all this? Well done you if you are; logging on to be met with a distinct lack of a chat, in addition to a handfull of back and forward debates isn't the nicest thing in the world. It's understandable that many folks see it as quite unaccommodating of us to pull the plug on the chat, taking into account not only it's popularity, but also it's functionality. Being able to strike up fun and interesting conversations on a whim was what made the chat work, regardless of how serious or frivolous a topic happened to be.

 

While I wasn't a chat 'regular' perse, by any means, on the occasions I did pop in, the conversations I was a part of were enjoyable and entertaining. To say that 'nothing of value was lost' as a result of closing the chat, is a bit of a flawed assumption - the right people and the right atmosphere led to killer discussions, and it truly sucks to see that go.

 

The main underlying issues associated with the chat didn't present themselves until one looked at the whole picture (ie: the 1,423,100 messages that were logged over a 127 day period; a figure that was continuously rising). By examining the logs, one could easily see that there were recurring times where behaviour and chat conduct, overall, was downright shitfull, and by this I'm not referring to light hearted, jovial conversations, but rather a disarray of senseless messages, which in turn led to the quality of the chat being lowered to a standard below that of which we aimed to uphold.

 

This issues uncovered in the chat logs were directly representative of the sheer number of chat related reports we received, many of which were ambiguous in nature, leaving us feeling quite ambivalent as how to address each given incident. Much of the time, it just as much of an issue to be able to administer a warning to the right people, at the right time, for the right reasons, and with the right interpretation of what occurred, as it was to resolve each influx of reports within a reasonable period of time. Again, many may claim that such issues never occurred during their time in the chat, however bear in mind that a comparatively small sample of time, is not representative of a chat that is active over a continuous 24 hour period.

 

On top of this, comments received from both the forum survey and feedback indicated that we were unable to practically maintain and uphold a quality chat for all.​ Not because we didn't wish to moderate it any longer (considering that we initially recruited a handfull of chat monitors for that sole purpose), but rather because of the equivocal nature of chat conduct - Regardless of the warnings and suspensions we were able to reasonably issue, poor conduct would forever be a perpetual problem that was troublesome to manage at best.

 

Moreover, the fact that this website is predominantly focused towards improving and maintaining forum related aspects, as apposed to the likes of IRC-centric websites such as Canternet, adds to the many components we considered before deciding to give the chat the boot.

 

The MLP Forums chat was implemented on the 5th of December 2011, as a small, barebones feature aimed at providing minor discussion in addition to forum activity, for those who did not wish to utilise the Skype room, as well as a perquisite for reaching a total of 500 members. Over the past months, it grew into something we never intended to become prevalent within our community. We attempted to accommodate for its popularity by means of moderators, terms of service and feedback. In spite of all this, we feel as if the feature has outgrown it's practicality in terms of maintaining a forum wide standard of quality.

 

If you wish to converse by means of instant messaging, by all means opt for the use of the Forum Skype Group, our weekly Synchtube events, or exchange IM details with those you wish to converse with. The chat may be gone, but other methods of communication will forever exist.

 

TL:DR - Go back and read it you lazy bugger.