The new AJAX-powered site is pretty cool, especially the "refresh" option which allows us to have pseuo-real-time chats on diaries. But what if there was a way to chat with your fellow Kossacks easily? And you could do it while viewing the site? And it was easy and free? Now there is. Cool!
Just type www.gabbly.com/dailykos.com in your browser address bar (Firefox is preferred, of course ;) ). You'll have a nifty little window pop up that will allow you to choose a name and chat with everyone viewing Kos at the moment! It works on any site. I'm currently chatting on blogforamerica.com and ironmaiden.com (I have such good taste, I know).
Just type in www.gabbly.com/(site address) and you'll be chatting with your fellow users of "Teh Internets".
Try it out! Leave me a comment if you have any problems.
More tips, including how to embed a chat in your diary, are below the fold. I'll update this diary throughout the night. Or just grab me in the chat room.
Hey, wouldn't it be cool to embed a link on the front page? Or maybe we could just roll our own, with some ID-verification. Just a thought.
***FAQ***
1. How's this work?
Uh, it bascially uses the Gabbly server as a "proxy" to view Dkos and to send the chat information through. That's my best guess. Or I could just say it uses AJAX-magic, like the comment system.
1.5 How can I NOT be a jerk?
a. Don't take other people's names. Come on, there's only one "Armando". And no, you aren't "Howard Dean". He's busy.
b. Dont' "spam". That means filling the window with words.
c. The usual civilities (what few may be, haha) on Kos diaries apply. Just be nice, ok?
2. How do I block people?
Left-click on their name in the list in the gabber window. Horray! Silence freepers at will.
2.5 How do I stop these annoying noises?
Just click that "speaker" icon on the lower right.
2.75 How do I know these are the "real" people I'm talking to?
Sorry, this isn'te integrated with Daily Kos. You'll have to go by instinct and what other people say :)
3. How do I chat about just one diary?
So, you want to have a chat window about your diary only, or perhaps want to view a chat about somone else's diary? There's an easy way to do it.
To embed a chat link in your diary, first *post* it. Then find the link to your diary on the main page. Or just view it after you post it. What you need is the address in the address bar of your browser. Copy and paste this, remove the 'http://', and then add it to a link, like this:
For example, take the "Clarence Thomas -- Chickenhawk" diary. It's address is:
"http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/29/212559/565"
So, remove the "http://" to get:
"www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/29/212559/565"
Now, make a link to:
http://www.gabbly.com/www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/29/212559/565
and you should be able to chat about that diary only, instead of about everything on the site. If you want to do the same thing viewing a diary (instead of posting it), just type/copy+paste that address into your browser address bar.
