Thinking about the main page - e.g shoutbox

[Melooon]

Iv been thinking about the layout on the mainpage for a while now and I wondered if it made more sense to move the shoutbox purely to its own tab inside of having it embeded. This would make the main page a little faster and it might focus things more.

I have temporarily moved it to see how it feels; let me know your opinions! 

[Audball]

I honestly feel its best to personally. Having it on the main page is nice, it just sorta being right there to chat. But also it felt kinda cramped up there unless I manually dragged its window larger. In a dedicated page its a lot bigger and more cozy. Usually when I am in the chat I just use the dedicated page anyway, now that I think about it.

[candycanearter07]

I'd prefer if it stayed on the main page, to be honest. It feels annoying to have to tab to something else to read the messages, especially with the entrance button not leading to the main page making it very hard to get back to it

[holly]

maybe im crazy but i cannot find the tab for the shoutbox lolololol i thought it was like just gotten rid of when i opened the site and its not there lol, i thought like it was cute that it was sort of secondary to the site, it having its own page kind of makes it i guess more serious? in a way? when it didnt before, having a sort of quiet energy to it thru its appearance in the clutter of the homepage

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

maybe im crazy but i cannot find the tab for the shoutbox lolololol

"Chat", between "Profile" and "Art" in the top bar.

----

I sometimes used the shoutbox chat just because it was there. I expect to use it less if it isn't included in the index page anymore, but I'm pretty neutral about this.

[Willardonic]

I've been enjoying the shoutbox!

I have a suggestion: I used to be on a forum where the chatbox was embedded at the bottom of the homepage (of every page, actually) and I feel like it permitted smooth navigation while also giving the possibility to chat. But I understand the loading concern, so both options are fine imo!

Cheers 

[Corrupted Unicorn]

Detracting attention from the shoutbox might help people engage with the forum topics more

[Melooon]

I agree with everything here, which is also not super helpful because many of these points conflict 

What I have noticed is that there has slowly been a cultural split between the shoutbox community and the forum community. While people do post on both, many of the frequent chat posters don't make frequent forum posts and many of the forum posters don't chat. (I think thats supported by the fact that many people in chat have not noticed this thread!) Thats fine, but it creates a tension between the two and having that tension on the homepage adds a lowkey drag to the overall mood.

While the forum posts have been wonderful to read recently, the chat has felt stressed and I feel like people are there more out of habit than because they really want to be. The point of the shoutbox was to shout good morning and then make posts, but it seems like its become a mini discord replacement, and I dunno that thats really a good thing 

I do agree though, it has many happy moments too, and when it works its really nice to have. I also don't think that moving it into a separate tab is the best solution to improve it; it's only a first idea to start a discussion!

[candycanearter07]

I still would like having a freely embeddable shoutbox as a way to talk to people maybe on other websites? i think it could be a cool gimmick

[GlitchyZorua]

I don't know. having the chatbox hidden from the home page makes me feel... empty. like it makes it less feel like things are going on.

Sure, yes, having the chat box in its own page could be a good idea if you want to focus on the chat. but having it hidden from the the home page isn't gonna make things any better...

[Audball]

I mean if you have a chatroom people are going to chat in it tbh. Unless you really wanna strap it down with rules about what can and can't be talked about in the shoutbox, people are going to just freely talk in there in tandem with/instead of making posts.

I for one never really make posts because I never have anything to say that warrants it's own post, nor do I have any notable comments to add to others' posts half the time. One could make the argument of "then why are you here Audball?" which, true. I guess I like to see what's going on here and have an account just in case I do have something to add. In the meantime, the shoutbox is where I go to chit-chat. I mostly just have it off to the side while I do my daily web-surfing. Say things that don't warrant their own posts.

I guess what I'm mostly saying is, an instant-gratification chatroom is going to get people's instant emotions.

[dotmidi]

I honestly feel its best to personally. Having it on the main page is nice, it just sorta being right there to chat. But also it felt kinda cramped up there unless I manually dragged its window larger. In a dedicated page its a lot bigger and more cozy. Usually when I am in the chat I just use the dedicated page anyway, now that I think about it.

My primary grievance with the shoutbox being in a separate tab is that, despite its similar culture, it is intended to be a shoutbox and not a chatroom. As a result, when the shoutbox was moved to its own separate tab, the overall layout and design of the "chat room" as it were, made me feel very crowded and disrupted.  Compared to when it's simply the tiny shoutbox on top of the website, it looks quite unpleasant when seen on a larger tab.  I believe that if it were in a separate tab, I would like to see some design adjustments made to make it easier to see/read through. However, there were problems with the shoutbox before all of this, so I believe it could use a complete overhaul to improve readability overall.

The point of the shoutbox was to shout good morning and then make posts, but it seems like its become a mini discord replacement, and I dunno that thats really a good thing 

I get your point, but I fear that putting it in a separate tab turned it into something MORE akin to a "mini-discord" rather than sticking to its original purpose.
It is a shoutbox, and in its basic form doesn't stray too far from its purpose. Since you can't read back most of what is said or have lengthy talks, it still discourages discord-like interactions. Even though users may use it as such, the limitations we have in the shoutbox usually discourages that behavior. It's purpose still maintains—saying hello, making announcements, and seeing new posts; people still utilize it in a manner akin to that of its intent.

If you remove it off the front page, the shoutbox becomes a chatroom, one that would be MORE akin to Discord, which is what you are trying to avoid but in your action of separating it to its own tab I feel as though gives room to form a new culture when put in a new enviornment--
Does this make sense?  I'm just trying to give honest critique; not attempting to come across as hostile or anything.
And to anyone who is reading this and perhaps thinking to themselves that it's "not that serious" true, it isn't. However, I believe that the steps you are taking, Melon, would have further more solidified it turning into a "mini-Discord". I would reevaluate the environment the shoutbox provides and has accumulated in order to optimize its potential without deviating much from the goal you had in mind.

I think the shoutbox is a great tool for the forum because there are a lot of situations and conversations that people might want to have but that wouldn't be suitable as its own forum post. Sometimes folks just want to discuss their breakfast in an open and back-and-forth style.  Similar to a chatroom. It's up to you whether you want them to do that on this site or take it elsewhere.

[DiffydaDude]

I guess what I'm mostly saying is, an instant-gratification chatroom is going to get people's instant emotions.

Eventually it'll be like "no doing literally anything ever because its instant gratification". I mean do we need to reconsider what exactly instant gratification is? Is it not normal just to feel happy cuz you chatted in a chatbox. And what tension even is there by having a chatbox? You dont want us chatting over on discord or matrix, you dont want us chatting on the chatbox, then where are we supposed to chat?

[Melooon]

I think I agree with these perspectives 

Initially I thought this was a design issue, but after the test, I can see it's much more about interaction and community ownership (e.g. how people feel they own the space they are in)

Thats a much more complicated thing to manage, and I would put it in the same boat as the time I tested making posts only readable when your logged in. It's always helpful to get a sense of what people want the space to be since it's actually a lot less clear than you might expect!

Im sorry if anyone was upset!

[dotmidi]

Eventually it'll be like "no doing literally anything ever because its instant gratification". I mean do we need to reconsider what exactly instant gratification is? Is it not normal just to feel happy cuz you chatted in a chatbox

You can never be happy you freak... [/joke]
I agree, I wouldn't say there is an instant gratification factor on the shoutbox--it is so bare-bones that all you *can* do is have a small talk and hope it goes nicely. It isn't always instant; sometimes the chat moves so slowly, and sometimes you say something and the flow stops completely, with no one talking for hours... And no one is upset about it, so I don't see the shoutbox as having an unhealthy "instant gratification" relationship--nothing is expected of anyone, and everyone does their own thing.
You are not rewarded or excluded from anything in the shoutbox, therefore there is nothing fulfilling about it other than having a good little chat, which, like Diffy, I find nothing wrong with.

Initially I thought this was a design issue,

[raising my hand] for me, I would say the major reason why I didn't like it being on a separate tab was because of design reasons. The shoutbox really does not look good to me on it's own tab.