Can anyone suggest some chat software?

[deadpool42]

I'm looking for a cheap (or free) way to add chat to my site. Everything I've seen so far is either poorly done or really expensive. Any suggestions?

 

[tviman]

Google for "free chat software" and be prepared to spend some time looking at what's available. There are a lot of good scripts out there but it all depends on what you want, what your web host will allow, and what server-side scripting languages your web host supports.

There's always a better way. The fun is trying to find it!

 

[deadpool42]

I've searched and looked at several but even some of the more popular ones haven't been updated in a few years. I'm basically looking for something to integrate with my forum, but I think most of them would be more trouble than it's worth. How hard do you think it's be to write my own? (I'm decent with Perl.)

 

[tviman]

You have to have a pretty thorough knowledge of a scripting language that supports multi-threading. I've been programming in several languages for over 15 years and I don't think I would tackle a project like this.

You mentioned that the ones you've seen don't seem to be updated. Well, there's a reason - chat routines are chat routines - it's not a situation where the process gets better and better - it's just that there is a limited number of ways to implement the process on the limited number of web server platforms. About the only "enhancements" you're likely to see in the "appearance" but the underlying code that makes it all work is basically the same now as it was 5 years ago.

There's always a better way. The fun is trying to find it!