A forum chat room?

[artguy79]

This forum is great, lots of posters and good info/questions, cept how about a chat room, it might be easier to just ask someone in chat than search all over for an answer..

[FSX]

Uhm, there is a Live Chat at the support page.

[striddy]

Originally Posted by artguy79

how about a chat room, it might be easier to just ask someone in chat than search all over for an answer..

There are many active forum members that are happy to help answer questions 24 x 7. Hopefully many of those answers also help the HG support team reduce their support load.

The most helpful threads tend to become sticky (stuck to top of forum page).

Another reason the forum is good, it leaves answers or solutions for future readers to find without having to be answered over and over. This way we all learn from each others answers.

We all wish forum users would take a few minutes to use the forum search facility rather than ask the same questions over and over as there is so much good information already posted.

[charlesgan]

adding a chat room in the forum...
bet it will filled with spam soon enough.

[Adorkable]

I think a chat room is a good idea!

1. Some members, like myself, find other members more helpful than the Live Chat

2. People who don't like it, obviously don't have to enter.

3. The Support Team individuals who monitor the forums can more easily assist members.

4. A CAPTCHA script can be installed to avoid spam.

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by Adorkable

I think a chat room is a good idea!

1. Some members, like myself, find other members more helpful than the Live Chat

2. People who don't like it, obviously don't have to enter.

But what if the other members who are helpful don't enter the chat room?

While a chat room may be more efficient from the point of view of one needing help, IMO it's less efficient for the person giving help. As David noted, advice offered in the forum can help many people--an unknown number of them, into the future--for the same effort as answering via chats.

I don't want to sound cynical, but it sounds like a way to make things more convenient for the person getting the help, instead of the person giving it (as the OP said, "it might be easier to just ask someone in chat than search all over for an answer".)

Plus, the person being helped can get advice from a broader audience (i.e., not just people in the chat room at one time, but those who subsequently read the question).

As for HG personnel, my guess is that manning such a chat room with a higher level of support than the Live Chat operators would be less efficient than their current deployment...letting them answer tickets, and spot-visit the forum.

[GvilleRick]

We tried setting up a chat room at my previous host. The forum there was comparable to the one here. We tried setting up a php chat room and later an IRC server. It never really caught on very well as only a few folks every logged in. Some of the staff would hang out there but real support needed to go to the Help Desk.

The forum is easier for me as I can check new messages frequently and reply when I have the chance. There have been some cases where folks needed help where I would give out my AIM or Yahoo address and we would get together there to figure things out.