Of late you might have noticed a decline in the amount of chat rooms. This is mainly due to the fact that we’ve recently started deleting chat rooms with no or little activity or chatters (5 chatters or less). The whole point of a chat rooms is to have someone to interact with after all . We WOULD however like to add a bit of variety to Chat27. We didn’t start out trying to make Chat27 an “Adult” themed site, and the fact that the most popular chat rooms are just that shouldn’t be seen as an indication of our intentions, but more as an indication of human nature! lol

So to that effect (or affect… whatever) we’d like to invite chat room owners that might not have qualified to be added in the past (for eg. too few chatters). For a limited time, the minimum criteria for being added to Chat27 has been reduced to 10 chatters per room, and 1 room per server (used to be that you had to have a minimum of 3 chat room with 15-20 chatters each for a new server to be considered).

We still won’t be adding any new adult-themed chat rooms, the whole point of this exercise, as mentioned, being to add some more variety to Chat27.

So if you’d like for your chat room to be added, CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE.

You register in one central place, fill in your details, and all other companies connected to VID will get your updated info, and be updated automatically every time you change your details. No more updating a thousand profiles, accounts and settings every time you move, change your telephone number, emails address etc.

VISIT: www.virtualid.co.za!

I really hope this takes off BIG TIME.

I’ve also decided to not add any more chat rooms with adult themes and/or names. It’s not what Chat27 is about, and frankly the reputation it’s getting is frustrating me somewhat. The current chat rooms will stay – they deserve to – but no new ones will be added. People are invited to create something original… c’mon! lol

As for the website redesign: That’s been put one the back burner somewhat. Technologies and options are changing so fast, that I’m just not sure if a new design will actually IMPROVE anything, and the fact that I can’t decide on a new “look” isn’t helping either! So for now, and until necessity or an epiphany dictates otherwise, the design will stay as is. Ideas are welcome!

After getting quite a few comments on the two logo options on our facebook page, this one seems to have been the most likeable. I’ve made a few changes since, and I hope you feel it’s for the better!

Now onto looking at the new web design and functionality to go with the new logo…

How does this affect you though? Here’s how:

• Page and Java loads should be much faster and stable.
• Local-only bandwidth can now be used to chat.
• It paves the way for the Chat27 make-over.
• It makes my life easier… happy days!

2011.11.14
This video is very informative for those using chat rooms and  social networks. It’s aimed at the youngsters, but the same principle applies to everyone I think.

More safety tips:

Being online does have its dangers. Predators always take advantage of those who don’t know how to protect themselves or what they may be getting into. Children are especially susceptible. Following are some tips that will help you and those you care about stay safe while chatting online:

• NEVER give personal information online. Your real name, address, telephone number, sex and age should be kept to yourself when meeting people online. If someone presses you for this information they probably don’t have good intentions. Legitimate users will understand your desire for protecting your privacy.
• Use EXTREME caution when agreeing to meet in person with someone you’ve met online. Always meet in a public place and always take someone with you. If you are under 18, NEVER meet with someone without taking a parent with you.
• Choose your screen name carefully. Choose something that is gender neutral and fun. Choosing something risqu for your user name will attract the wrong kind of crowd and is not appropriate for professional uses.
• Never respond to any inappropriate solicitations or comments that make you uncomfortable.
• Never believe everything you read in a profile, on a message board or in a chat. Often, people pretend or role play, either for entertainment, to hide or for other ulterior motives.
• Avoid engaging in arguments online. There are those who provoke this kind of behavior on purpose. Resist the urge to fire back and move on.
• Know the rules of the chat rooms you visit and follow them.
• Don’t post negative or personal information of others without permission.
• Never accept files or downloads that you aren’t expecting or from people you don’t know. You may receive a virus, spam or other inappropriate material.
• Know how to make copies or logs of your chat conversations.
• Utilize the protection and safety features offered by chatting software. Some have settings that block unwanted users, allow you to ignore chatters that behave inappropriately and so on.
• Know how to contact the moderator of your chat room.
• Be nice and mind your netiquette.
• Following these tips will help you enjoy the benefits of online chatting whether it is through text, video or voice. The Internet provides many resources that make life more convenient. However, always be aware that some people do not have good intentions or are mischievous, so be smart, think before you type and obey the rules of netiquette.

source: http://video-chat-im-software-review.toptenreviews.com/chatting-safety-tips.html

If you’re looking for info on how to have your chat room added, click here.

Ok, here we go…

Who

You’ll notice there’s a bit of inconsistency when it comes to referring to whomever runs Chat27. Sometimes you’ll see “we”, sometimes you’ll see “I”. The simple truth of the matter is that I’m only one guy running this website, and any references to the plural might just be an attempt on my side to make Chat27 look bigger than it is, don’t ask me why – a shrink would have a field day with me as it is! My name is JC, visit me on www.gennath.za.net if you’d like

When & Why

When it comes to “why”,  I’ll need to take you back to the previous century. I studied 3D Design and Animation at a now defunct company in Cape Town in 1996. SA didn’t quite have a market for what I had to offer, so I took what I could get, and moved to Ceres in 1997 to start work on a start-up project that needed 3D expertise. Ceres being a small town, I was socially uncertain and sometimes quite lonely^♥. Along came the internet, and a whole new world opened up to me! I made many friends via the old MS Comic Chat (I miss it, but most chatters were from other countries), and then discovered IRC (Internet Relay Chat – click here for more info). So many new people, from right here in SA that I had something in common with, that I could talk to about my life, my fears, dreams, questions, or just break the silence!

I moved to Johannesburg in 1999, and yet again IRC was there for me when I was a newbie in a VERY intimidating city. I made most of my friends via IRC, and spent many an all-nighter in front of the computer yapping away. I also met many of those people in person when I felt comfortable enough.

I was getting deeper into web design as well by then. The IRC community was a constant companion while I was in JHB, and when I moved back to Cape Town in 2005 I thought it was about time I gave something back to the community that was there for me when I needed it most. During this time many new chat technologies were surfacing that contributed to declining numbers on IRC servers, and I really wanted to help make it more accessible to people.

Chat27 was registered in 2006*. The “27″ is derived from SA’s +27 international dialling code by the way. I decided on it when all SA-related chat domain names I was interested in was already taken.

The “traditional” software to connect to an IRC server is mIRC. This is a very powerful tool, but for the newbie, can be very intimidating and confusing. Thus I looked into software that was available that required minimal customisation and installation. If you think installing Java is cumbersome, trust me, it’s a breeze compared to the alternative . **

It was never my intention for Chat27 to become as popular as it did. I told myself that, if I could help just one person not feel lonely, and help just one person make a great friend or find love, then it would be worth all the hard work I put into the site! The first incantation of Chat27 was my pride and joy, but as first tries go, it pretty quickly showed its limitations. By the end of 2006 the current design was implemented. Since then the site has grown into a patchwork of additions, scripts, programs, servers and installations, and maybe it will stay that way I do however think it’s time for V.3 – a lot has changed since 2006! (If you have ideas, click here).

These days I don’t chat much any more. I’m very happily married now, very busy at work with little time to spend on my pet project. My heart is still very much in it though!

How

Ok, so now we start getting into the more technical stuff. First thing you should know is that Chat27 does not run or administrate any chat rooms or servers. The website connects to pre-existing and independently run IRC rooms and servers. It started off with only two server networks and 4 chat rooms, right now it’s a few more. The only thing I have say over is whether or not I’m prepared to add a pre-existing chat room. Whatever goes on in those chat rooms, and how they are moderated are completely out of my control. I’ve created a diagram to show how things work – I hope it makes sense!

Adult Content

This is one of the more sensitive subjects that come up every now and then. If you’ve read up to here, and you’re still awake, you will know that I #1 have no control over what goes on in a chat room, and #2 that people will be able to connect to a public IRC chat room listed on the site via various other methods other than the ones I provide. Thus, doing an age check, or forcing people to register before they can chat seems somewhat pointless as under-age chatters will either lie about their age or merely find another way to chat anyway. 

Chat27 didn’t start off with ANY adult chat rooms at all, but I added them at the request of the chat room owners, and they’ve since become the most popular chat rooms on the site. That’s human nature I suppose. This however does not mean that I’m prepared to plead ignorance of the fact that some not-of-age chatters might visit my website. I’ve indicated adult content where it’s appropriate, and hope to put up an article/links on the dangers/pitfalls of chatting soon. The best parents can do is educate their children, and hope they make the right decisions.  I’ve also decided not to add any further adult-themed chat rooms. Variety is the spice of life after all!

There are however ways for parents to limit the content that is viewable by their children on their home computer. As for the growth in mobile usage – as far as I know none of the software used on this site is compatible with any mobile devices, and the unmoderated nature of mobile phones is one of the reasons I’m still a bit reluctant to look into making a mobile compatible version of this website.

Offensive behaviour in chat rooms

Just as per the above, I have no control over the chat rooms. Each room has its own set of operators, moderators and rules the are “governed” by. Luckily leaving a chat room is much easier than leaving a conversation in real life if things become a bit uncomfortable.  Wherever possible, I provide contact details where people can report abuse or suspect behaviour.

The future of Chat27

After the previous two topics I though I should at least try to end on a positive note! 

It is my full intention to keep Chat27 and its sister websites running for as long as possible. Being a designer, not a programmer, innovation might not happen on a regular basis, but I will at least try to make sure that Chat27 keeps up with the times and try to implement whatever technologies are available to make things easier for the chatter. 

Rest assured that the motivations behind running Chat27 remain the same as the day it was conceived, and I hope to one day hear of a “happily ever after” story that has Chat27 to thank for it’s initial spark .

♥ Yeah I know, boo hoo right?
* I started off with blab.co.za in 2005, but after a bit of rethinking I decided that Chat27 was a better name to go with. 
** Thanks to the awesome folks at the Atrum network, I’m also able to offer CGI connections to chat rooms on their server. This negates the need for installing Java, and also bypasses company firewalls that might block ports that Java needs to connect.