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Young Writers Society


Brand New Chatroom: Candy.js



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Sun Dec 08, 2013 4:48 am
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Nate says...



The Young Writers Society is now using Candy.js as the basis for our chatroom. You can read about the Candy chat script here:
http://candy-chat.github.io/candy/

Honestly, I was not intending to switch chats, or at least not intending to do so this early. I began experimenting with Candy about two months ago, and then asked a bunch of people to help me test it today. Pretty soon, no one was using the flash chat anymore! So I went ahead and made the switch.

However, please consider this a beta trial only. YWS may or may not stick with this. Many times, stability issues and other problems only pop up after everyone starts using the same thing.

Moving from flash chat to Candy, you'll notice that a lot of features are now gone. If you've been a member for several months or more, you'll also notice that Candy looks very similar to the phpfreechat we were using for the early part of this year.

So with so many features gone, why switch? About a week ago, the flash chat was upgraded to the latest version, and I was very disappointed by it. The company that makes the flash chat keeps promising to offer better mobile support, but if so, they're going in completely the wrong direction.

At the same time, more and more YWSers are accessing the site through mobile devices, and the flash chat proved a very poor option for most of them. The previous phpfreechat that we had worked well on mobile, but it was also very unstable.

The new Candy chat, though, uses an XMPP server for the chat. XMPP is a type of internet protocol for instant messaging -- just as you use http for websites, you use xmpp in many chat applications like Gmail Talk, Facebook Chat, and AIM. Given that it has such broad support, it's extremely stable and fast.

Unfortunately, it still doesn't work great on smartphones, but that's mostly because you need to squint! On tablets, it should well.

If you have any questions, or would like to switch back to the flash chat, just let me know!
  





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Sun Dec 08, 2013 4:56 am
Iggy says...



Does this mean I should delete the chat app? :[
“I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then."
- Lewis Carroll
  





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Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:01 am
Nate says...



Not yet. Consider this a beta trial for now.
  





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Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:06 pm
deleted5 says...



@Nate does the new chat use up phone MB everytime the chat gets a new message? Don't want it to swallow it up.
I AM YOUR GOD. -AlexSushiDog
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Thu Dec 19, 2013 2:17 am
Nate says...



@AlexSushiDog, I'm not sure. It shouldn't use up very much though.
  





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Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:35 am
deleted5 says...



Ok thanks!
Btw @Nate love your Xmas avi :D
I AM YOUR GOD. -AlexSushiDog
Checkmate Atheists.
  








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