Thanks for your input. You have addressed the realities very well.For those of you advocating a free chat feature, I program websites for a living and the chat server software and chat client software is expensive. The "free" options out there are mostly junk. They charge per user license and it generally is not cheap if you want features like cam to cam. While advertising could help defray the cost, most likely, it would not entirely pay for the software or licenses.
On top of that, you generally need to have a separate chat server from your regular web site and database server, and it has to have specially installed software that many hosting companies will not install, because they don't want the hassle of maintaining it. This separate server is a requirement, because chat software, especially if you have a robust chat room, is a pig when it comes to memory, cpu, and disk use. Without a separate server, the web site would slow to a crawl.
Thank you for the important information!For those of you advocating a free chat feature, I program websites for a living and the chat server software and chat client software is expensive. The "free" options out there are mostly junk. They charge per user license and it generally is not cheap if you want features like cam to cam. While advertising could help defray the cost, most likely, it would not entirely pay for the software or licenses.
On top of that, you generally need to have a separate chat server from your regular web site and database server, and it has to have specially installed software that many hosting companies will not install, because they don't want the hassle of maintaining it. This separate server is a requirement, because chat software, especially if you have a robust chat room, is a pig when it comes to memory, cpu, and disk use. Without a separate server, the web site would slow to a crawl.
Excellent thread and members opinion, I thought about how to make the chat, but first and foremost in our plans give you the ability to upload your videos and view it online.
I need council of the skilled PHP programmer. If there is at someone free time and desire, please tell me.
Thank you for the important information!