Live-Chat Derby Talk?

[Vitamin K]

So, earlier this year, I tuned into the live stream of the Mid-America Derby, and the flash-based player had a neat feature in where the people watching could chat with each other via a chatroom sort of interface. I got to chew the fat with folks like Sporty and Speedster and a few others.

Anyhow, I was wondering if something similar could be set up for Derby Talk. That is, a companion feature to the forum that would provide a live-chatting experience. One such method could be with a web "talk box" that would display inline along the side of the forum. I've seen a lot of forums that incorporate this nowadays. Another possibility would be a Derby Talk IRC channel (though this sets the required technical know-how bar a little bit higher).

Anyhow, it's just a random idea, but it popped into my brain so I thought I'd toss it out there. What do you folks think of the notion?

[sporty]

I like the idea very much, But its something Randy will have to think about.

Sporty

[Vitamin K]

I'm willing to lend whatever technical expertise I can to the endeavor, if the mods like the idea.

I like the idea very much, But its something Randy will have to think about.

Sporty

[gpraceman]

I'll consider it, but it will have to wait until after our busy season.

[FatSebastian]

What do you folks think of the notion?

Is this to be an audio feature (and/or video say, via a webcam), or just live typing?

[Scrollsawer]

I think what Vitamin-K is referring to is a traditional chat room, with 'live' typing. While there was a video feed at the Mid-America, it was a static view of the track. Not sure there's a need for audio chat, but it would certainly be a cool idea, and could save a lot of time if you were trying to convey a complex thought or process.

Scrollsawer

[FatSebastian]

I think what Vitamin-K is referring to is a traditional chat room

Gotcha. IMO, the ability to search DT's archives is its primary asset; I wonder if that feature might be lost to "live" or streaming content.

[Vitamin K]

A lot of developer communities that offer both forums and IRC channels for support will implement (via a bot) logging of IRC sessions, so that people can go back and browse the chat archives for a given day, if they so desire.

Also, I'd never want to see this /replace/ the discussions we have here. Just possibly be a venue for more off-the-cuff things like "hey, wha'cha building today?"

I think what Vitamin-K is referring to is a traditional chat room

Gotcha. IMO, the ability to search DT's archives is its primary asset; I wonder if that feature might be lost to "live" or streaming content.