I know this idea was done before and scrapped BUT when it was an idea it wanted to replace sMail as a whole, I for one want it just as an added feature.

As one person said

I missed this when staff were testing it out (didn't even know it was a thing), but I'd be happy if it was something staff revisited. I wouldn't want it to replace sMail, but I'd happily use it all day if it was a thing.

I personally dont think I would use it much past it being a novelty feature.

If it is added back, I hope the issue of it causing excessive lag is addressed fully.

I must have as well, either that or I simply panicked because I didn't want it to replace sMail.

This is why I'm talking about it, to be able to nip that in the bud ((lag)) as well as try it a whole different way.

I would use it, probably a lot, but it still needed many tweaks from the version that was presented to us.

Presuming it wouldn't replace smail, I see good potential in it (: Not all of my Subeta friends use IMs, and the ones who do have different preferences, so it would be nice to have a group chat every now and then.

I wouldn't mind to have this feature attached to forum groups, but I feel it would be more versatile if we could create our own chats and then people could accept or deny invitations. Would require an online status indicator, lag addressing and other things so... I suspect it would be tough coding ;c

Yes, yes, I like that but I feel the first thing an admin would chime in to say would be that doing something like a "group chat" would take away the purpose of the forums.

I sense this might be one of the reasons why bringing this feature back wouldn't be a priority for staff. Either they could feel like they're incentivizing cliques or they could see it as a desincentive for using the actual forums... on top of coding/server difficulties.

I don't really feel like either case is true, for a number of reasons, and, if it followed smail rules, it would allow me to have chats in different languages with some of my friends, thus helping them remain more active on site. But given we already have smail (needs changes but yeah), comments and forums I can understand why they might say also wanting instant chat is too much/unneeded :/

If there are ever free resources for attempting this again, though, I'm all for it xD

The reason I really like the idea of being to IM over sMail when two users are online, is that you could see when a user is in what I've seen called an "idle" state so you know they may not be at the computer, plus we could see when the other person is "currently typing" so they can finish a thought or add-in something they may have sent in haste.

I thought it was a cool feature but I'm not sure if we really need it. If people want to IM they could always add each other on Skype. Otherwise we have comments, smail, SB, comments with gifts, the forums, etc. There are a LOT of ways to communicate and they're fine separate.

I would probably use it, sure. But as states above there are tons of ways to communicate already, some of which you get achievements for too. Always tracking.

So I'm gonna poopoo this idea, sorry.

There are still issues with the forums that have been there since the first day, and I'd like to see those things addressed before staff thinks about revisiting the IM feature.

I wasn't really a fan of the instant messaging, anyway. I was afraid it would channel discussion away from the main forums, which can already be slow at times.

The only downside I can see to having it added is the forums may be less active - and I know that is something the staff seem keen on having, active forums.

The point we are trying to stress is to communicate through Subeta and not another site.

I don't use those other sites myself.

These are all very decent reasons that I support not to revisit the IM feature. You can still have your opinion. I just... politely disagree.

But there are comments already ..? Or plain ol' Smail? I wonder if it would kill the forums for lack of activity between users..

That's fine. It's still an option that many people use and one of a number of reasons I can think of to not bring back an IM feature. It's a strain on the servers that we just don't need.

I can't say I'm for this. With sMail, comments, forums, SB (and whatever other outlets there may be that I don't know of or use) I think there are plenty of ways to communicate. Most of the people I am friends with have me on facebook and I use that messenger. I think, while it could be a nice little feature, it could bring more heartache and issues when there is plenty that already need addressed. Not a fan on something that could potentially cause strain on the servers.