Forum

Shoutbox is my new proposal for our forums.

I wanted to ask when and how columns in our forum were mixed. Normally names and avatars would be on the left, now they're on the right. It's irrelevant for me if and what we have on the left or on the right, I just wanted to ask this meaningless question. But it's too much for a forum, too much for mailing list, and IRC is really synchronous, in the sense you have to be there to answer or be answered.

Apart from working as an asynchronous chat, it also help with socializing, and some things can be solved faster when asked or proposed there. It's also easier to use it, than starting a topic - at least for small stuff.

So, guys, how about shoutbox?

If your proposal were realised then the amount of communication would be further divided.
Right now (non private) communication is done here (forum) and on IRC. Both are right now not that much used. A newcomer would get the impression that the forum, shoutbox and depending on the time IRC, were dead.
If you ask such "meaningless" questions on IRC it has the benefits of increased activity there and you staying there longer and be it afk.

Furthermore the questions/answers were more scattered and therefore harder to find which leads either to more frustration and/or the question asked again and following more chaos and cluttering up.

To conclude I think it is not useful to have a shoutbox right now, but maybe in the future, when more people participate.

A year late reply, but still: The issue I have with shoutbox is that it breaks the forum as it has to be added as a mod and makes forum maintainance more difficult and likley to break, that and also the division of com as torben mentions.

closing it.