Friday, July 30, 1999, 12:03:59 PM, Ben Edelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Among the most frequent requests after ICANN's Public Meetings in Berlin in
> May was a centralized ("official") real-time chat site for online
> participants to use to communicate with each other.
> I'm prepared to make such an area available, but as yet no online chat
> software has met my the requirements I believe are appropriate:
> * Free, donated, or already owned by the Berkman Center. (IChat and Oreilly
> Webboard fall into the last category.)
> * Has a web interface to eliminate the nee for installation of an IRC or
> other special-purpose client. (I worry that installation of such a program
> would be too burdensome for non-technical users, and it'd likely be
> impossible on shared computers.) JavaScript is OK, as far as I'm concerned,
> being realistic about what client-side tech really is necessary for chat to
> work.
> * Is stable and reliable. (IChat might do the job except that it fails this
> test, according to past Berkman experience with the product.)
> * Allows direct access to the chat without a lengthy or unduly burdensome
> registration routine. (Yahoo Chat is marginal in this respect, certainly
> not as good as I'd like. Webboard is customizable, but I haven't yet made
> as much progress as I'd like in reducing the number of clicks to get to the
> actual chat room.)
> * Multitasks readily, allowing the RealPlayer and (another session of the)
> web browser to run at the same time.
> * Provides a complete, easily-readable log of the chat session.
> Do people agree that these are appropriate criteria? Are they too
> restrictive, or too broad?
> Any suggestions on software that meets this criteria? I'd be happy to use a
> free web-based service like Yahoo Chat; to link to a Chat server hosted by
> any entity that makes reasonable assurances of equal access, service
> availability, etc.; or even to install additional software on our NT server
> if necessary. But at the moment I'm not thrilled with any of the options
> I've found so far, and while Yahoo Chat or Webboard (among many others!)
> might certainly do the job, I'd like to think there's something better out
> there.
> Comments and suggestions on or off-list, as appropriate.
IRC is probably your best bet, and then use a Java client on the
website to access it.
I have seen one in use that requires Netscape or IE 4+, if that is an
acceptable compromise. I will contact the author about its use, I
believe he has licensed it freely to other organizations in the past.
--
William X. Walsh
General Manager, DSo Internet Services
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fax:(209) 671-7934
The Law is not your mommy or daddy to go crying
to every time you have something to whimper about.
