We have a new chat room. It is a big hit. Come on by and join in the fun.

You'll love it!

Friday was a big draw maybe because of the storm,but we had 15 or more in there the first day. Everybody loves it.

I did like that it attracted people. Not sure if this was because of the snow, the new site, or ability to get in to chat.

There are a few flaws, it does boot you out after a period of inactivity. Not sure if this setting can be adjusted or not.
Links from external applications cannot be pasted into the chat by all users either. This seems to be dependent on the user's Java version.
Also, at least one user was blocked from getting in by unknown security settings, similar to the old Java chat.

I'd still like to find an IRC based chat that will work well on the site and will keep the IRC chat active.

Leave it alone it is better than the last one every body can get in and the people that matter like it this way. The ping can be set also.

and the people that matter like it this way.

No offense, but that statement comes off kinda rude and disrespectful. Isn't everyone supposed to matter?

Here's a list of negatives for the new chat implementation:

Costs money unless using the basic edition
Proprietary technology
No third-party chat access
Requires Java
Can only be access with a browser
Disconnects users including closing the entire chat window
Poor notification feature (sounds get annoying fast and the popup window gets annoying even faster, no flashing tab/task bar)
Not well documented
Most can't paste urls
No mobile compatibly
Smaller user base/community
and more

One thing that may have contributed to problems with the IRC based chat was that the IRC server was hosted externally on a server that was accessed by thousands of people at once with hundreds of chat rooms open and running at once.
One possible solution may be to host your own private IRC server on your own system.

With a chat protocol like IRC a person could access it from a third-party chat client, of which there are tons out there. Some great examples are Trillian (Windows, OSX, Android, iOS, Blackberry), Adium (OSX), Pidgin (Windows, OSX, Various Linux OS's), mIRC (Windows), Yaaic (Android), Linkinus (OSX, iOS), Colloquy, (iOS), and TONS more.

Using IRC i could have a chat client just sitting, running in the background, on my phone and if I'm out geochaching and need a bit of help I could get live help from whoever is in the chatroom. Also if I'm sitting at my computer I can use a chat client and have the chatroom as just another screenname on my chat Buddy list mixed in with the people on facebook chat or aim or msn, etc). The new chat is very inconvenient.

Ah I see. So we had much more people on that first night that was not a chat night than there has been for a long time. Even the new people could get right on without having to figure out how to change their entire computer system around just to get into a chat.

Most of us out here don't spend a lot of time messing around with computer systems. We have much better things to do and like it when things work right out of the box like they are supposed to. Kind of why geocaching is so popular. Getting people away from the computers and outside into real life.

Now as far as the people that matter, well that is not really what it sounds like. The computer geeks can complain all they want about all that computer guru stuff. The people that matter and don't know what your talking about or could care less, like the stuff when it works. It works fine now without screwing around with the settings and codes and other things. We don't need to have it running in the back ground while playing games and harvesting crops and whatever else. Most of us don't need to post URLs and pictures and stuff.

Just get in there and talk. Enjoy each other and let it be. You can still do that guru stuff some other time.

By the way...I'm not PC. That is a failed experiment.

The biggest problem with the previous IRC chat was not the IRC servers, it was security issues with the Java interface. In an ideal world, we would have an IRC-based chat which was accessible via traditional IRC clients as well as a reliable browser-based interface here on the web site. There may be a few options to try, but there are more important site issues to clean up first.

It might be nice to hear from those that have used the new chat to know why they did try it out. Just because it was new? Did they have trouble getting in before?

I had all kinds of trouble getting in with the old system and many others did too. I even tried the suggested other systems and all they did was screw up my connections on almost everything else on my computer that had been running just fine before.

Then even with the new systems I still could not get on. So how could that be any better a system? It is not.

This one runs great right out of the box and most have liked it that have come in. Mostly because no changes needed.

The computer geeks can complain all they want about all that computer guru stuff. The people that matter and don't know what your talking about or could care less

Really? The computer geeks made the new chat (even it's a crap) and the old chat and everything else you are looking at at this moment possible.

The biggest problem with the previous IRC chat was not the IRC servers, it was security issues with the Java interface. In an ideal world, we would have an IRC-based chat which was accessible via traditional IRC clients as well as a reliable browser-based interface here on the web site. There may be a few options to try, but there are more important site issues to clean up first.

It might be nice to hear from those that have used the new chat to know why they did try it out. Just because it was new? Did they have trouble getting in before?

In ideal word a chat would be based on XMPP protocol and front end implemented using HTML and AJAX, you would be able to access it from the site without need of any third party plugin or using any XMPP client of your choice, in addition you would be able to use your own XMPP account you use now or a geocachingmaine account (when connecting from the site)

In ideal word a chat would be based on XMPP protocol and front end implemented using HTML and AJAX, you would be able to access it from the site without need of any third party plugin or using any XMPP client of your choice, in addition you would be able to use your own XMPP account you use now or a geocachingmaine account (when connecting from the site)

Sheesh! And I always thought military acronyms and jargon were hard to understand. LOL!

Sheesh! And I always thought military acronyms and jargon were hard to understand. LOL!

A couple examples of what he is talking about are Facebook Chat, and Gtalk inside of Gmail

In ideal word a chat would be based on XMPP protocol and front end implemented using HTML and AJAX, you would be able to access it from the site without need of any third party plugin or using any XMPP client of your choice, in addition you would be able to use your own XMPP account you use now or a geocachingmaine account (when connecting from the site)
Yes, I had something like this running on the site many years ago and the problem I ran into was attacks on and it would really bog down the server really bad. With third party plugin you are using someone else's server so if anything happens in chat it does not effect our serve.

I got right in on chat last night and found it to be very easy. I give it a thumbs up.

I like that you can see how many people are in the chat room from the home page now.

Tomorrow is chat night

Come on in and try it out.

It is fun and easy.

Lately the room has been busy all times of the day and night, everyday.

Officially the fun starts at eight, but come on by anytime.

It tells you a number. Not necessarily how many are in the chat. It seems to update irregularly.

Ah I see. So we had much more people on that first night that was not a chat night than there has been for a long time. Even the new people could get right on without having to figure out how to change their entire computer system around just to get into a chat.

Most of us out here don't spend a lot of time messing around with computer systems. We have much better things to do and like it when things work right out of the box like they are supposed to. Kind of why geocaching is so popular. Getting people away from the computers and outside into real life.

Now as far as the people that matter, well that is not really what it sounds like. The computer geeks can complain all they want about all that computer guru stuff. The people that matter and don't know what your talking about or could care less, like the stuff when it works. It works fine now without screwing around with the settings and codes and other things. We don't need to have it running in the back ground while playing games and harvesting crops and whatever else. Most of us don't need to post URLs and pictures and stuff.

Just get in there and talk. Enjoy each other and let it be. You can still do that guru stuff some other time.

By the way...I'm not PC. That is a failed experiment.

Did you know you come off kinda snarky at times? The list wasn't meant to be solely directed at you. I just wanted to lay down some examples for the entire community so some others could possibly have a better understanding of where I was coming from. As for having so many problems with the previous system, maybe a large issue deals with what you just said. That a lot of people just don't know much about 'todays' basic technology. It might help for those types of people to put in a bit more effort to increase their 'tech' knowledge and stay with the times. As it is, I've never had a problem with the old chatroom and I am far from a computer geek/guru. I couldn't code to save my life. Most of the more technical stuff I might talk about I could never implement myself, yet I do know how to use todays tech so that im not reliant on others.

As it is now, the new chat encourages just what you are talking about. It actually cause people to spend more time sitting at their computer. Currently with the new chat, I have to sit at my computer with the chatroom open and not being able to multi-task if I want to pay attention to whats happening in the room. With the old system, if I was getting work done on the computer, I could have the chatroom open and have it notify me when people talk without it being annoying or intrusive. Also, if I happened to be out and about geocaching or doing whatever, I pull out my phone and see what people are talking about or even ask questions right then and there. Not possible with the new system. And if you want to bring up any negatives about the smartphone angle, like it or not, thats where a huge influx of new geocachers are coming from.
I understand it is hard to find the perfect sytem that's suitable for everyone, but I just think the new system is a step in the wrong direction.

Did you know you come off kinda snarky at times?

Hit up a breakfast event or any of the other events that are attended by the snarky one....You'll find that personalities may clash a lot online due to the lack of tone/ context in the written form but he's really a decent guy once you get past the appearance thing...

Hit up a breakfast event or any of the other events that are attended by the snarky one....You'll find that personalities may clash a lot online due to the lack of tone/ context in the written form but he's really a decent guy once you get past the appearance thing...

I totally agree and actually don't have any problems with Ekidokai. I was just kind of referring to his online forum writing style really. Even though I haven't met yet, I still think he's a nice guy. Heck, he was the first and only other cacher who has ever gone out of his way and contacted me. This was when i posted a DNF on one of his caches. He gave me a hint and then told me about the breakfast that was coming up (haven't made it to one yet, but I definitely will once they start up again). Ekidokai and most cachers i've talked to privately have been friendly and helpful.

Did you know you come off kinda snarky at times?

I will endeavor to be more consistent with my snarkyness. It will be hard but with the help of Brdad I shall prevail. No offense taken. After getting blasted by Cano on occasion I can take anything.


Hit up a breakfast event or any of the other events that are attended by the snarky one....You'll find that personalities may clash a lot online due to the lack of tone/ context in the written form but he's really a decent guy once you get past the appearance thing...

Your lies are quite evident to even the uninitiated.


I totally agree and actually don't have any problems with Ekidokai. I was just kind of referring to his online forum writing style really. Even though I haven't met yet, I still think he's a nice guy. Heck, he was the first and only other cacher who has ever gone out of his way and contacted me. This was when i posted a DNF on one of his caches. He gave me a hint and then told me about the breakfast that was coming up (haven't made it to one yet, but I definitely will once they start up again). Ekidokai and most cachers i've talked to privately have been friendly and helpful.

Don't let my lack of courage or bluster in a one on one or face to face meeting discourage you. If I can't get something going in here or out in the cyber world then paying for a cable modem is a waste and it is all for not.

Most of the lies told about me are true.

And before anyone asks, yes Don Rickles and I are related.

My apologies.