hikarunogo | Questions and answers about the new community chatroom (Reply)

Why is there a new chatroom?

As explained in an earlier post in the community, the current chatroom is hosted on Campfire, a commercial service aimed primarily at businesses and other professional organizations. Campfire is a paid service and the Go Go Igo! room has generously been made available to us by Aja, who has been paying the bills all this time. We are grateful to Aja for her kindness and hospitality, and as Aja is no longer active in Hikaru no Go fandom, it was thought that it would be better for the community to take an active part in shouldering the responsibility and expense of maintaining our own chatroom.
Campfire, despite being a paid service, has a fairly modest number of features. Making the decision to migrate has allowed us to be choosy and select a new platform with a much larger feature set and almost endless opportunities for customisation. This means we can create a chatroom that is tailored to OUR needs instead of settling for an off-the-shelf solution.

Who's running this chatroom?

The chatroom was implemented, customised, and is maintained by Qem.

Where is the chatroom located?

chat.gogohikago.com.

What kind of chatroom is it?

In accordance with the community's wishes, the chatroom is an implementation of phpFreeChat (pfc).

Can I use the chatroom on my phone?

Yes! You can use the chatroom by accessing the webpage using your mobile browser. No special app or software is required.

Does the chatroom require cookies?

Yes, it does.

How does pfc compare to Campfire?

Page Title:

Like Campfire, the page title updates in your tab bar with the number of unread messages.

Timestamps:

NEW to pfc is the ability to display a full timestamp next to each message! Since we're an international bunch, times are displayed in UTC. You can also turn them off if you'd prefer a simpler look; just click the icon!

Sounds:

Like Campfire, sound may be globally muted. Just press the icon!
Like Campfire, a sound is played when a new message is posted.
Campfire has commands that play a short sound or music clip to all users in chat. pfc does not.
NEW to pfc, a sound is played whenever someone enters chat!

Logs:

Like Campfire, messages are logged and made available to search.
NEW to pfc is the ability for ALL users to access the logs, not just users with accounts!

Private Messages:

NEW to pfc is the ability to send private messages to other individuals in chat! Private messages are private, and are not logged. Just type /privmsg recipient and you'll open a new private tab for just the two of you! You can tell it's a private message room because the icon will have a person's head on it () instead of just the simple message balloon () that indicates publicly available rooms.

Custom Rooms:

NEW to pfc is the ability to create custom rooms on the fly! Want to have a side conversation and not clutter up the main chat? Just type /join name of your new room and carry on! Want to bring people along with you? When inside your new room, just type /invite recipient to send them an invitation.

Emoji:

Like Campfire, emoji are available for use in chat.
NEW to pfc are animated emoji!
NEW to pfc is the ability for us to add our own CUSTOM emoji! Want to make your own Hikaru no Go-themed emoji? Send it in and make it a part of the chat!
NEW to pfc is the ability for us to offer emoji cut and paste pages so that you have oodles and oodles of emoji, sprites, and other fun things available to include in your message!

Images:

Like Campfire, you can paste an image's URL into chat and the image will appear in the window.
Like Campfire, oversized images will be displayed at a more window-friendly size, and can be clicked to view the full-sized image.

File uploads:

Campfire allows users to upload files 10 MB and under to share with the chat. pfc does not. However, we've implemented a much more flexible solution: a companion forum in which you can upload files for sharing.
Campfire only shows the last five files uploaded in the sidebar (other files are only available in logs, which are not available to users without accounts). With the companion forum, you can easily reference all the files that have been uploaded, which makes it a lot easier to keep up with fast-paced conversations featuring lots of traded fanart, doujinshi, chat drabbles, and more! The forum has a locked members-only section, so you can keep everything under glass if you'd prefer.

Pastes:

Campfire automatically shortens long chunks of text and hides it under a paste, allowing you to click it to view the entire text (with a limit of 65,536 characters per paste, or approximately 9,000 words). pfc does not. However, you can start a thread in the forum for your paste, allowing you the flexibility to update your thread as you update your opus (making it super easy for newcomers to catch up!) or delete it entirely. The forum has a locked members-only section, so you can keep everything under glass if you'd prefer.

Nickname Changes On The Fly:

NEW to pfc is the ability to change your nickname without having to leave the room and delete your cookies! Just type /nick my new name.

Nickname Highlighting:

NEW to pfc is the ability for the chatroom to highlight your nickname! pfc will automatically bold your name any time someone mentions you, so it's easy for someone to grab your attention.

Emotes:

NEW to pfc is the ability to emote! Instead of sending a message, you can perform an action. Just type /me does whatever a spider can.

Interactive Emotes:

NEW to pfc is the ability to emote with others! You can /hug recipient to spread some love around, or /fistbump recipient to express your camaraderie.

Cycle Through Previous Commands:

NEW to pfc is the ability to cycle through previously input commands! This allows you to easily repeat something you've recently done without having to re-type it all out. Just press the Up Arrow to cycle backwards. If you go too far, you can press the Down Arrow to cycle forwards.

Random Outcome Generators:

NEW to pfc is the ability to generate random outcomes!
- /flip heads OR tails will flip a coin.
- /roll xdy will roll dice, where x is the number of dice and y is the number of sides.
- /nigiri odd OR even will nigiri.

QuizBot:

QuizBot is a has-been. Now we have OchiBot.

Themes:

NEW to pfc is the ability to theme the chat, changing the layout and design of the chat page! Just click any of the buttons listed under Themes in the sidebar to change the theme on the fly, no refresh required. Right now we just have the default theme and a no-frills version, but soon we'd love to add new themes designed by the community!