Topic

Random idea for Global Chat

So, from listening to the discussions about the removal of Global Chat, it seems to be a problem of two contradicting issues:
1.  Users like Global for the ability to constantly have contact with anybody in the community
2.  The Devs say there is a limit for how many people can be on any chat channel, and Global won't scale

So the start of a proposal to compromise between these issues:
Devs create channels Global1 through GlobalN, such that they have enough channels available for the peak population of active players that they tend to get.  When a new user logs on they are assigned to Global1 until it is half full.  When enough players are logged on, another channel is opened up, and all the incoming players are randomly assigned to Global1 or Global2.  Each time enough people log in to overwhelm the current channels, a new one is opened up.  As people log out, there is more room in various channels before they get too full, and channels that become empty can be closed down.

I prefer an idea like this to try keep the sense of community in Glitch over simply trying to get people to form lots more functional (quest, trade), or clique (neighborhood, friend) groups to divide up the chat channels.  It means that there is always a channel that gives you the chance of meeting and talking with both folks that you know and like, and new players that you haven't met before.  The conversations will flow based on the personalities of the people there, but if you're not interested you can go to other specialized chats.  Since the chat channel size limit is based on what the servers can handle, and new channels open and close when needed, it's pretty unlikely to get stuck on a dead channel.

There are probably a lot of tweaks that would make a process like this work easier, so the first people in an open channel aren't talking to themselves, and closing channels doesn't cut off conversation threads.  It might take a while for people to get used to this style, but I think it offers a good trade between what folks want, and what is feasible for the technology.  If necessary, TS can offer a once-a-day "please let me switch Global channels" emergency option.

Posted 15 months ago by KhaKhonsu Subscriber! | Permalink