EpochWolf gets another case of Ooh shiny! Storm-Artists.net is now using mibbit.com's embeddable irc client instead of CGI:IRC. As a bonus, non-members can now use the WebChat to try out part of the site before joining.

The first program storm-artists used for the WebChat was okay. :) It was great that users could finally chat with each other without needing to be technically inclined enough to setup an irc client. It wasn't without it's faults. It lagged, it didn't work when the my personal server got messed up. (Save the rolled up newspapers for Avo, it's always his fault! )

Mibbit.com was something I ran across a few weeks ago. It was cool, it was shiny. I played with it for awhile before bringing it to the attention of the other coders and the evil policy director. (just kidding! SI is awesome.) Then it was just a matter of changing the links in the code and tweaking a few things.

And on to the changes.

1. The restrictions that were on the old WebChat no longer apply.

2. Since the servers at mibbit.com handle the load, I opened up WebChat use to anyone browsing the site.

3. Because our gracious host irc.sff.net isn't registered on mibbit.com, you will have to enter a username before logging on to the server. (Your login name is filled in by default) When that changes you will be automatically logged in.

4. Mibbit.com does put a single line of advertising underneath the tab bar. The coding team and the evil policy director decided this was acceptable for the advantages that would be gained. The advertising is not run or endorsed by storm-artists in any way.

5. Your userdata is no longer needed for login to the WebChat. The old CGI:IRC setup sent user data to epochwolf.com. It was reasonably secure setup but it's better to not have to do it at all.

6. As mentioned before, any visitor to the site can chat. No account is required.

7. Finally! It doesn't lag or look ugly like the old one did.

So go and checkout the new WebChat
(Just remember, you might have to poke someone to get their attention. Example: "EpochWolf: Hello!? :| are you blind or just sleeping.")