SHOUTBOX SHOUT-OFF WINNER: You Picked Your Favorite

Hey everybody, it’s time to shake things up just a little. It seems that y’all really like the shoutbox, but I know a few of you are frustrated by trying to post links, so I thought you might like to try something new.

If you take a look at the bottom-right of your screen, you’ll see the challenger. It’s sleek, fast and sexy, the new kid on the block, with a bad attitude and no patience for slow. But does that make it better?

Let’s take a look at the differences.

[one_half]

The Old Standby

[bulletlist]

• Keeps historical information
• Posts links….kinda
• Gotta refresh to see new comments
• Not site wide
• Paginates to old posts
• We’ve spent HOURS together

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[one_half_last]
[bulletlist]

The Challenger

• Historical retention sucks
• Posting links like a fiend
• Streams new comments and there’s no waiting in Aisle 1!
• I can take it with me? To the Forums too?
• Smileys! I 🙂 smileys! I 🙁 smileys!

[/bulletlist]
[/one_half_last]

Well, you voted and the winner was clear:

It’s the Brash New Challenger, by a landslide. And apparently some of you are even older than ME and don’t know just what a shoutbox is…. The shoutbox is just a way to chat in the hallway and mix it up. Unlike the Forums, which have distinct topics and stay up forever, the shoutbox is great for passing the time and gabbing in real time, like a party line.

Some of the comments you left included:

How about somewhere in between. Historical info is good to have especially if we have to argue with liberal assholes…

Tough choice, but I like change, so I vote for the new.

Maybe we could add Private messaging ? And how is that mobile teamroom site coming haha ? (ED: We have private messaging in the Forums, and that mobile site is in the works.)

Definitely like the new one better. Will miss all the memories from the old one, but the new one has a better time stamp, links work properly. Of course it isn’t perfect, but no question about which one I prefer.

I’m loving the new Shout /Chat Box 🙂 My only remaining question is regarding your first bullet point in the comparison above… the Old Standby “Keeps historical information” and the Challenger “Historical retention sucks.” How does that square with the answer to my question, that there are “unlimited” messages in the queue? In either case, I still vote for the sleek, sexy, fast new version! 🙂 Thanks a bunch, guys! (ED: Thanks! I’m thinking that this new version is so good at a conversation that everyone can participate in that historical stuff isn’t as important. It’s gonna get busy in there!)

Needs timestamp (ED: word!)

Haven’t tried posting a link, but I do like the ease of scrolling up or down and having access in all windows. Seems to post quickly too.

Old standby / Brash New One: I’m good either way.

I know exactly what it took to put that together. Excellent work. And I like it. It would be nice if we could take it to the main site, too. Sometimes you really need to say something, but don’t want to post to the world. (ED: This is the CRAZIEST idea ever! Damnit I like it! But I think the psychos and spammers would ruin it. We have control over it by virtue of it being behind a login.)

Awesome,The only thing I would add if possible is time of post.Really Great job improving an already great site

Excellent effort, you guys are killin’ it! (ED: hey thanks!)

I like the fact that all the text is displayed and I don’t have to hover over the “…” to see the rest of the post. I don’t think the retention will be a big deal. If you want something to stick around forever, that’s what the Forum is for. (ED: great minds… thanks for bringing that up!)

(Featured Image: Has nothing to do with the topic except that it’s BADASS! Courtesy Telegraph.co.uk)