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new chat format and PM's

12:05 pm Tuesday, 13th October, 2015

The new - now only - chat format is here and here to stay and I am not going to complain about it, it isn't perfect but will no doubt improve as time goes on.
One thing that concerns me a little with the format and particularly the PM situation is that it may have created a "quick fuck or nothing" situation. Unwanted PMs are a pain (even to a boring old male fart like me) BUT! There are times when you open an unsolicited PM and find that the person concerned is reasonable and interesting and that you are actually happy to continue conversing. Now, unless you are a VIP, you have to be "friends" to PM each other. This can be too much hassle if the room is busy and you may not want 1000s of "friends" just to find out that they are not what you are looking for. There is also the situation of being able to talk in PM or in the room - with the old format both were possible (if you can multi task of course lol) now it is one or the other. This tends to force people on to other media and away from the site if they want to chat properly and also if they wish to cam as only one cam can be seen at any one time.
So - the tendency seem to be a quick "I am here - anyone close want a fuck?" which I feel is not what most people really want.
OK comments please - I don't claim to know it all - how do you feel things are working now for those looking for quick one off meets - those for friendship - those for long term relationships etc



Comments
4:51 pm Tuesday, 13th October, 2015

Agree B, I don't and wont be using it as I used to. I don't consider it a "chat" room anymore just a platform for explicit pics which supposedly should be enough for you to want meet someone. The format is rubbish, not being able to view chat and pm at the same time is laborious, switching back an forth is a pain, not being able too see who has entered is another inconvenience, the icons are rubbish too, all in all I think its inferior compared to the old room.

8:51 pm Tuesday, 13th October, 2015

LillieG my partner used to cam occasionally - nothing explicit (usually lol) and now feels it is pointless as people can only watch one cam at a time so 99% will pick the most explicit at that moment, leaving those who don't "show all" with no point in camming at all. It will be a shame if camming is affected (along with the various other things). Lets hope they can sort things to be more user friendly.

10:06 pm Tuesday, 13th October, 2015

Lillie i think SexyBear mentioned something about having to download the latest version of google chrome to be able to use the new chat room though i could of course have picked that up wrong, but it might help to ask admin it that is the case. :-) x

6:17 am Wednesday, 14th October, 2015

" If it ain't broke,why bloody fix it ?? " I agree 100% with everything my fiends say on here. I shall have to consider taking steps....probably away from the chat room ! I did express my views to the powers-that-be and to be fair,they said that they would always get back to me when they wanted me to pronounce on something..........or was it ? " When we want your opinion,we'll ask for it !! "

7:49 am Wednesday, 14th October, 2015

SSG is correct.....I used to use IE but couldn't personal message or anything so changed to chrome and all works perfect. There is still a lag on the room but that's down to the site notthing else x

1:26 pm Wednesday, 14th October, 2015

i and a few others have been multitasking in both rooms since it all started a year ago winky winky ..the only things what i dont like is the paying and the design..slimjetx64(chrome alternative) is the browser im using which is all good..the lagging starts when u can scroll up the screen way back so best to refresh awhile .sad days for the serial uninvited pmers huh hahaha luv it ...i think if we all go to ticket desk with the same suggestions maybe they will do something about it in the long run

7:31 pm Wednesday, 14th October, 2015

I am a bit of a fan of the Larson 'Far Side' cartoons, and the changes remind me somewhat of one of my fave cartoons of his which shows a circus dog, on a unicycle, with a pointy hat on, about to venture out onto a high-wire. The caption reads 'It was at this point Rex realised he was an old dog and this was a new trick'

Now I am technologically sharp and I can see the advantage of the new setup if you are on a tablet or smartphone, but the format simply does not suit 'chat' - idle banter and social badinage that has actually set this site apart from all of the others. In that the advantage has been lost, I find myself spending more time elsewhere, and I have certainly found what little time I have spent in the room here to be far less satisfying. I will persevere however, in the hope that it does get better, but for now it has all the appeal of many other standards that are now hailed as 'New Improved'.....

8:47 pm Thursday, 15th October, 2015

Riggs......... spot on, and I like you now go elsewhere to chat. Shame because it was the chat room that set this apart from all the others.......

1:53 pm Friday, 16th October, 2015

LillieG, they did have the new room in gender order (sort of - it wasn't in alphabetical order within gender so very difficult to find anyone) but most people complained that they couldn't find anyone's name so they changed it back to alphabetical - sorry it looks like you were out voted on that one but believe me it was hell trying to find someone's name.

10:34 pm Friday, 16th October, 2015

There is a fine line between constructive criticism & moaning so I will try to keep things positive.
The fact that women no longer have to put up with a constant bombardment of pms must be a good thing but surely a single click on a button asking if you are willing to accept pms from an individual rather than having to go through the rigmarole of having to request & approve friends would be much easier? Some of my very close acquaintances on site have come from a lucky pm or even an accidental one. Also the fact that the chat is much more accessible from phones & tablets is a major improvement. And ...................... that's about it.

Can't think of anything else positive to say about it so I will start moaning.

This is what happens when someone tries to improve something that they blatantly don't use!
Why on earth is nearly 13 of the screen taken up with a list of rooms? The chat area should be the majority of the area so that people can actually chat & follow conversations. Isn't this obvious? Just have a change room button & let the user choose!
The font is much too large so that only about 7 replies can be seen at 1 time reducing the chance of the chat flowing.
This is only exacerbated when you do get a pm you have to open a new window & any link you had with the room conversations is immediately erased. It's almost as if the actual process of chatting was only thought of after the style was decided upon.
I used to find the hours flying by but now it's a constant struggle to create any kind of conversation within the roombefore eventually waving a white flag and giving up. Nearly everything about the room is anti-chat!
I will persevere with the hope that things will improve but I'm not holding my breath.
Lets hope someone is listening..............

10:43 pm Saturday, 17th October, 2015

It's def not you LilG. It appears that only single syllable replies of 4 words or less now seem to be the norm. What was once a thriving, fun & interesting community has been destroyed leaving only inane comments and endless pics ..... those bloody pics!!!! Admin please can we have a pic free room?
Anna you're right it is only a chatroom but it was a chatroom with real friends.

12:28 pm Sunday, 18th October, 2015

I have waited and read all the comments before posting mine. I tend to observe things and try to always be fair and not react or burst based on initial feelings.

Now I am ready. I truly think that one of the main characteristics of human beings is adapting to any environment. I also think that changes will always happen whether we like it or not. However, as all inventions during history they need to be improved and they r not perfect. The site and chatroom are not an exception. It will take a while for everyone to get used to it. Therefore, all the feedback will be hopefully appreciated and taken from the point of view that we "users" want to stick to this site and so we want to get the best results.

1. Pictures now, can be only seen if you want. Therefore, if you don't want to see them, you have the option. However, the truth is some people abused this feature a lot. One day a friend of mine there told me that he counted more than 1000 pictures from one single couple in one hour. I think they should only be allowed in PMs.
2. Now, pictures by themselves could not be the trouble but a) they slow down the chat b) you can read the comments about them so it interrupts any kind of dynamic in the room.
3. Due to the fact that now you need to be "friends" before you PM. People can't be bothered to go through the process of adding friends and so they have forgotten all about being private or discrete. Pms used to be the place to share your desires. Now, everyone can read some people talking about everything. img src="imagesadultemoticons026.gif"
4. Cams: Yes, now you can see one cam. However, you need to scroll all the way up to watch it and it is very difficult for people to see who is camming or not unless you scroll up and down all the time and u cant see who is watching ur cam unless u do the same.

If I am honest, I love when there r less people there now. The more people, it is a chaos. Not even point in reading. Now, I still go because as once said in the chatroom, I truly believe people also make chat rooms but improvement is necessary to go forward and being better.

12:26 pm Monday, 19th October, 2015

Chocolatelover I could say the same for myself and Mavis. Without the chat room I would not have known she existed, without the BANTER and chat I would not have got to know her, so we would never have met and I would have missed the chance to be very happy indeed. I will say thank you to the vintage chat room for that - I don't think it would have happened with the new format.

8:55 pm Monday, 19th October, 2015

I agree with a lot of what has been said already, especially with the poor posts and the endless f*%$"g pics!!! I think the 'look' of the site is quite childish too, looks more super Mario than adult chat, and people posting 'hilarious' (not) rude emoticons as a substitute for wit. Having said that, there have been times a long while ago where the banter in the room had me in stitches quite regularly but think that with the endless bannings, censorship and corporate feel of the site, that hasn't happened in a long while. However, the general good mood and support the room gave people going through difficult times was a joy to see and I think that will be lost in this brave new world. I'm giving it a go, but see myself getting bored pretty quick. Think I lasted a week on Fabs, it was like Jeremy Kyle on there, the thing that made here different was the varied chat, the wit and the respectful and, disrespectful lol, friendships clearly evident. Still, that won't buy someone a conservatory will it ??.....oh by the way img src="imagesadultemoticons019.gif" ....Oscar Wilde must be spinning faster than a drill bit on full power ffs!!!

3:41 pm Tuesday, 20th October, 2015

I have given the new format a week or so to get used to it. Technically its not a problem.
However...
I really do feel we have gone backwards on this. We cant PM (unless you can be both bothered to become friends). This makes instant off the cuff chat almost non existant. Appears to be no c2c feature on this one eaither.
The old one was easier to use.

As somebody has already said on here "if it aint broke why try to fix it"?

Please can we have our old format back. You will lose people and potential clients. I dont use it as much anymore and when i do i simply get bored very quickly and go elsewhere. If thats what i do I am sure others do the same.

9:10 pm Tuesday, 20th October, 2015

Hi guys, we are listening. We are working on a compact view for the messaging window so you will see more on screen will be slower when busy.

We will also improve the video chat so video is not part of the online list but will be shown all the time.

You can now PM non friends so long as you are not in "friends only" status if you are VIPPremium.

If you close the pics they will only show as an icon in the room...

We are listening, and please do send in a ticket to support with your concerns and ideas so we can collate your views and prioritise development to ensure we build the chat you all want!

12:49 am Wednesday, 21st October, 2015

o oh. it looks like the serial pmers will be happier again now youve got pm without adding as friends again..oh well , back to the irritating hissy fits thats for sureimg src="imagesadultemoticons025.gif" img src="imagesadultemoticons026.gif"

7:54 am Wednesday, 21st October, 2015

So the one thing that was bad about the old format (unwanted pms) will be back whilst the rest of the new format remains clunky, grunty and unwelcoming.

That Ladies, Gentlemen and those on between, is progress for you.

What I will do though Bert (and well done for popping your head over the parapet - it was not that long ago that this blog would have been strangled at birth) is to gather my thoughts and forward them by way of a support ticket, and I urge others to do likewise.

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Ancient but active male looking for entertaining chat and company


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