This.

Chat is on indefinite hiatus. Watch this space in the future. Thanks!

Paul

How long into the future? It's been almost a year ;)

Cheers.

We do not have a technical solution at the moment.

The chat software companies keep going out of business!

Hey :-: Any news on the chat front?

-J.

Internet Brands recently bought Ngage Live Chat. I suspect we'll hear more. ;)

Exciting :D

-J.

As we approach December...
 

... Maybe it will be a holiday miracle! :-: :D

Don't get excited, it's not going to happen, to the best of my knowledge.

Chat is pretty passé anyway. ;)

Disagree. I used to participate in chat on a regular nightly basis & many friendships were made via chat - including visiting an FTer in New Zealand 10 years ago when I was there & whom I only knew from chat. He & his family were quite kind to me & showed me around. I've also met many other FTers on chat - and had many good conversations on a nightly basis (granted, easier to do when I lived on the west coast so it was earlier my time).

I'm still irritated that a corporation of IB's size that deals w/ nothing but internet bulletin boards can't figure out multiple years later how to have a decent chat :mad: Quite frankly I think less of IB because of that. But then again, given how many other things IB can't get their act together on - including a decent mobile app - perhaps I shouldn't be surprised they can't get their act together on chat.

But chat is definitely not passe.

Cheers. Sharon

Hi Sharon,

Both chat and mobile were discussed in the Mod Do.

Chat is being deprecated because there were only a handful of people using it, and because it does not make sense for an online resource like FT to host a chat, whose information is not available to the community once the chat window closes. At this time, there is no plan to revive chat.

As for a mobile app, that is planned for 2016. I am not sure if the Do minutes have been posted, but you may want to review them.

Thank you,

Paul

:(

Honestly though, you have a good point about only a handful of people using it (perhaps SkiAdcock will join us more often in the future), although it didn't hurt FT by having it (except when certain members scared others off... you know who you are :td:). Regardless, thank you for the update.

-J.

The reason so few were using it is because there were so many problems w/ it - dating back to 2011 when IB was in charge & in 2012, & even a year ago IB was saying hey we've got new features coming, hang on. I'm sorry but 4 years is a long time for people to hang on. No wonder there aren't too many participating!

Also I don't buy the idea that just because the conversation closes out that it meant it had no value. It was chat, not an archive. And FWIW - prior to IB acquiring FT there were regularly lots of FTers posting on chat nightly. IB didn't like the way chat worked (even though it worked well for years before IB took over). Heck it was even mentioned that & gave some b.s. reason for discontinuing the old chat. And then when IB said chat was working in '13 IB did very little in terms of announcement on it publicly, and FTers went to the alternate method of chatting (not on IB).

IB dropped something that was of value & had lots of FTers posting on it, including from Australia, etc, in the middle of the night. FT Chat use to be a vibrant community w/ lots of FTers posting.

And let's chat (pun intended!) about the mobile app, which is also years behind schedule. Heck it was a year ago at this time IB said we'd have a new mobile app in early 2015. Now it's sometime in 2016. (and even prior to last year we were told it was just around the corner).

If you don't want to lose folk who aren't willing to put up w/ all the problems they're encountering w/ the mobile app IB needs to get its act together. It's not like IB is a small shop w/ just a couple of employees. Most people access FT via mobile devices. To have a crappy mobile app hurts FT/IB. And I'm sure KKR would like more people to check in/click.

* It should be noted that my comments are not specific to IBobi/Paul, who I know & like (and who is just the messenger).

Cheers. Sharon

Where would a non-moderator find these?

A non-mod wouldn't have access to the Mod Do minutes. I think IBobi assumed I was a mod, probably because he's seen me at some of the Mod Do dinners (invited by mods) & because I've served on TB.

Cheers. Sharon