Thank you all for the support! Can't wait to show the finished product in the next few weeks. I'm actually trying to go above and beyond with things that were never on my to-do list to begin with 
In regards to the mentioned chat room...I may add such a feature /after/ the new site launches. Though right now it's not on my radar. And if it is added, it most definitely will not be on the front forum page taking up space. As it stands now, our current chat room is VERY accessible. You click one button and you're in >.>. People still don't utilize it. If a chat room is eventually added, I will not be placing it at the top of the forum index for the following reasons:
1. It's unattractive, distracting, and obtrusive.
2. It's intrusive. Not everyone wants to come to the forums and automatically be lunged into a chat room against their will. Some people like to keep a low profile and I want to respect their right to do so.
3. It won't be used either way. People will still continue to use Skype. And after the game launches, people will naturally choose their own linkshell chat rooms over a larger public one. And those who want a public one will utilize Backstage in game most likely.
4. It uses a lot of memory/queries/server resources. As a result, forum outages would possibly happen a bit more than they should.
5. It takes away forum content. This is something the vast majority of forum programmers agree with. They, like me, don't really care for built in chat rooms because people keep things like image links or other shared items in the chat room rather than the forum. I would rather people post content on the forum that can be kept around for years to come rather than post it in a chat room where it'll disappear within a day's time or less.
The cons really outweigh the pros at this time. Again, not saying we will definitely not have a chat room. But it would be its own separate page if so. Personally, I think a shout box or status updates with comments would be better for this particular environment.
In regards to the mentioned chat room...I may add such a feature /after/ the new site launches. Though right now it's not on my radar. And if it is added, it most definitely will not be on the front forum page taking up space. As it stands now, our current chat room is VERY accessible. You click one button and you're in >.>. People still don't utilize it. If a chat room is eventually added, I will not be placing it at the top of the forum index for the following reasons:
1. It's unattractive, distracting, and obtrusive.
2. It's intrusive. Not everyone wants to come to the forums and automatically be lunged into a chat room against their will. Some people like to keep a low profile and I want to respect their right to do so.
3. It won't be used either way. People will still continue to use Skype. And after the game launches, people will naturally choose their own linkshell chat rooms over a larger public one. And those who want a public one will utilize Backstage in game most likely.
4. It uses a lot of memory/queries/server resources. As a result, forum outages would possibly happen a bit more than they should.
5. It takes away forum content. This is something the vast majority of forum programmers agree with. They, like me, don't really care for built in chat rooms because people keep things like image links or other shared items in the chat room rather than the forum. I would rather people post content on the forum that can be kept around for years to come rather than post it in a chat room where it'll disappear within a day's time or less.
The cons really outweigh the pros at this time. Again, not saying we will definitely not have a chat room. But it would be its own separate page if so. Personally, I think a shout box or status updates with comments would be better for this particular environment.
