MLP Forums skype chat group... ?

[ProjectRKA 2,848]

I never saw any reason given for the deletion of the skype group.... why was it deleted ? Also... if we can't have a skype group, I suggest that we re-enable IP.Chat. If this happens, I suggest we get some mods to moderate the IP.Chat only... some people want a place to talk to each other in large groups and in real-time. Whether it be the on website, or on skype... 

[Red Diamond 549]

There is IRC.

 

IRC > IP.Chat > xat

Edited March 16, 2013 by Box of Donuts

[Moon Rat 4,772]

Apparently the MLP Forums Skype Chat had to be cut down due to having the same problems as the IP chat, mostly with moderation...

 

We do, however, have a lot of other Skype Groups pertaining to the MLP Forums though

 

You can even make your own group as well if you wanted to :3

[Shiki 5,855]

I never saw any reason given for the deletion of the skype group.... why was it deleted ? Also... if we can't have a skype group, I suggest that we re-enable IP.Chat. If this happens, I suggest we get some mods to moderate the IP.Chat only... some people want a place to talk to each other in large groups and in real-time. Whether it be the on website, or on skype... 

 

Last but not least, the MLP Forums Skype Group has been around for a while. Unfortunately, as time has passed, the staff have realized that it's been the on-site chat, all over again, just off-site, with less mods to watch it. The group constantly has issues, reports and other things going on that we've heard about on a regular basis. When we look at things like the GCT, having a crowded, off-site group that shows the same exact issue the original chat did is a losing battle. All we're attempting to say is that all of these things have been low-tier parts of the site, of which we have no reason to continue maintaining due to factors like inactivity, lack of interest and lack of manageability ease. Does this mean we're going to start going on a rampage and begin blowing things up with metaphorical TNT? Of course not, these have been wilting petals, dead branches on the forums' tree for months, and only now are we doing some Spring time hedge trimming all in one fell swoop.

Creating yet another IP chat is probably not going to happen. History tends to repeat itself, and insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome.

 

I'm sure with a few more mods, the chat could work, yes. But with the way people act in IM services just... no. People, for whatever reason, cannot control themselves, and it causes extra stress on the mods that only caters to a select few on the forum, anyway. Catering to the small percentage of people in an IP chat or Skype Group is just not efficient in terms of making sure the largest amount of happiness by all users on MLPforums.

 

I'm no moderator/admin, but this is just what I would think would be the mentality of one, because it makes sense. 

Edited March 16, 2013 by Plummy

[Zoop 8,384]

Honestly, chat isn't something that anyone on the staff has ever felt particularly excited about offering or maintaining. Rather than forcing ourselves to continue dragging something along in a halfhearted fashion, we'd prefer to simply trim the fat so that we can remain focused on things that we feel we can actually do a decent job of providing and supporting.

 

The conduct within the Skype group was often becoming less than desirable, and not at all what we want to be associated with the MLP Forums name. Rather than beat our head into the walls and attempt to reform it (which we tried - and failed - to do with the old IP.Chat), we decided that it would be best if we just cut our loses and simply admitted that we are not suited to providing chat services.

 

And really, at the end of the day, that's what it really comes down to - chat is not something that we've ever done a good job of. It isn't one of our strengths, and to be completely honest isn't something that we're terribly interested in. Just as companies like Google routinely cut off services and features that are either under utilized or that don't fit into their overall vision, we sometimes have to make similar decisions.

 

The closure of the Skype group marks the end of our forays into real-time chat. 

[Jonke 3,743]

Unfortunately neither of them are an option for us at this point. They've something in common and that's the lack of control and the lack of proper tools for the team to work with. IP:chat is arguably more manageable than the skype chat since it was easier to track members but at a cost of a horrible way to check through logs.

 

In the end, we can conclude that neither of them are working for our standard on services officially run by MLP Forums. Just like Zoop said.

 

Also, the chat era is not completely dead, there's a place called GCT which is basically the same thing but in a way more manageable form. 

Edited March 16, 2013 by Leafeon

[Betez 1,734]

If you were there the night it got deleted, you would have wanted it to get removed. People were spamming call requests, and ultimately it took more time to wait through lag than it did to talk.

 

GCT, I personally hate, because I can't keep up with it, but that's all we have now.

Edited March 17, 2013 by Link

[NavelColt 22,880]

Not going to attempt to come up with a minor wall of text on the 'why', I believe numerous of the posts in here have explained that fairly well. What I will add is that there are alternatives that people can use, knowing that the staff are not interested in pursuing chat-esque features again:

 

>The GCT is frankly not that different, it's super active and nearly real time just like a chat. It's definitely moderated upon regularly. It's a topic, so chat-addicts are expected to feel awkward, but if you give it a chance you should grow accustomed just fine. At its' base, it's the same thing.

 

>As we've seen already from some people, if anyone wants to make a Skype group for members and friends that's fine. As long as you don't affiliate the group with the forum in any way, or overtly try and advertise it all over the place, that's not something we can or would try to control. Not related to us, not our jurisdiction (or our problem </3)

 

I don't endorse or not endorse either of these, myself, but more or less putting a bold face on them, since these are really out in the open as options already. I personally hate chats, in general. The only Skype groups I use are the staff group chats, and those are all intelligent people of whom I already talk to on a regular basis.