InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Computers make very fast, very"

materialise (materialise) wrote in rp_tutorials,
@ 2013-07-13 23:30:00

IM question
Hey everyone. I'm starting a game with a friend but neither of us has been active in games for years (the same applies to our friends) so I decided to turn to this comm, in hopes that someone may be able to answer.

In the games we used to be, scenes were usually written on AIM and then posted to the main community. I don't think anyone uses AIM anymore so... what should we use? We'd like something that allows IMs but also group chats. I've suggested Skype because I have an account and most people I know do too, but my friend doesn't have one so we don't know if it's something most people will have.

I know that we can always have in-thread scenes but I don't really like that format so I'd like to avoid it if possible. Thanks.

(Post a new comment)

	snowball 2013-07-13 11:19 pm UTC (link)
	i know people love to use google docs now. it's very convenient and more user-friendly than aim imo (Reply to this) (Thread)

	materialise 2013-07-14 12:00 am UTC (link)
	Thanks! I'll look into that option. How would it work for chats? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

hangthestars
2013-07-14 12:13 am UTC (link)

You CAN use docs to talk to people if that's what you're into. Since they update in real time, using them as chats is actually pretty feasible. Personally, I use gdocs primarily for logging and stick with AIM or email (or even just OOC posts) to talk about OOC stuff, but I've used gdocs for group projects before. In my case it was organizing a seven person meetup, and it worked pretty well, but it's not my favorite way of communicating with people other than the log. Gdocs also has an "email collaborators" feature now so that you can send a notif directly from the doc when you finish your tag instead of having to send them a separate email or IM.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	materialise 2013-07-14 12:18 am UTC (link)
	Oh, that's awesome! I'll look into this. Thank you so much! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	staceywacey 2013-07-18 05:18 am UTC (link)
	There is also a chat option within gdocs where you can leave messages for anyone viewing the doc, which is helpful if you want to tell someone that it's their turn. I like to use gdocs for logs and then chat on AIM or gtalk. (Reply to this) (Parent)

hangthestars
2013-07-14 12:16 am UTC (link)

And because IJ ate part of my post: AIM chats might not be awesome for scenes anymore, but the newest version of it allows for chatrooms that can be accessed whenever. They don't close you out when you log off, which is handy if you want to keep up a perpetual game chat or something. We don't do it for our game because we're really comfy with our emails, etc., but if that's your preferred way of talking to your players OOC it's not a terrible option.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	materialise 2013-07-14 12:20 am UTC (link)
	Oh, so you're always technically in the chat? That sucks! We used to have an OOC room where people would go and chat every night, and then for events or scenes with more than two players we'd create special chat rooms. I'll make AIM an option, then, just in case that's easier for people for OOC purposes at least. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	hangthestars 2013-07-14 12:22 am UTC (link)
	Only if you want to be! I know I'd make a group chat or something and then realize four days later that I'm still technically in it and have to close it out. You can definitely leave (creepy if you couldn't), but you have to actually make the effort to click the button, you aren't automatically taken out when you sign off. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

droa
2013-07-14 12:30 am UTC (link)

Huh. That always-on chat function makes a lot of sense. Out of curiosity, if you invite someone to that new style of chat, do you know if the original chat-creator can boot other folks out, essentially turning the chatroom 'off' for those parties?

I don't actually use AIM (Mac-friendly chat program, go), but courtesy your explanation now realize someone tossed me into one of those always-on chats... and now it's impossible for me to get the damn thing off my flist.

Sorry to turn you into The AIM Expert, but I was totally unaware of that new feature until reading your comments.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

hangthestars
2013-07-14 12:41 am UTC (link)

Iii don't know? I've never had to boot anyone. But I know that there's no obvious "get me out of this chat" button. If I remember right, you have to right click something or find something that says "leave this chat" because clicking the little X in the corner doesn't actually do it. I've had chats in my list for over a week because I keep forgetting to leave them, but you CAN remove them. It's just kind of inconvenient.

Also! I used to have a Mac (RIP my Macbook) and have used both Adium and the desktop version of GChat. Only the actual gchat client supports group chats, though. I was also recently using our Mac desktop while my PC was in the shop, and the current version of AIM works just as well on a Mac as it does on the PC. Only downside is that despite being able to use Gchat from the AIM client, you still can't be in a group Gchat from it, but most people I talk to use AIM anyway.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_dickens625 2013-07-14 03:32 am UTC (link)
	If you go through http://blast.aim.com you can modify the blast groups that you are in. You can stay a member but not receive messages, leave the group entirely etc. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ex_dickens625 2013-07-14 03:32 am UTC (link)
	If you go through http://blast.aim.com you can modify the blast groups that you are in. You can stay a member but not receive messages, leave the group entirely etc. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	droa 2013-07-14 03:46 am UTC (link)
	You have just saved my sanity. Thank you so, so much for the assist. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_dickens625 2013-07-14 05:23 am UTC (link)
	That's alright, I looked it up for much the same reason. Mostly when I was marathoning Uni work I didn't want to be interrupted. (Reply to this) (Parent)

nympholepsy
2013-07-13 11:40 pm UTC (link)

idk it seems to me like tons of people on this server still use aim, it's a well-integrated part of many pb and celeb games.

people on tumblr seem to prefer skype (i know way more people there that have skype than aim) but ij has always seemed the opposite to me. i never see anyone advertising for psls with their skype contact for example. same with msn, yahoo, etc.

i do recommend gdocs though, they have the added bonus of being easier to tag into when you're somewhere you can't use aim like at school or work. or, if you have any irc experience, you might consider setting up an irc room for your game and including a simple how-to walkthrough for players who have never used irc before. i've been in games that have had private irc rooms and it's been a really great resource, provided that the mods at least are really diligent about being in there whenever they're available.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

materialise
2013-07-14 12:14 am UTC (link)

For what it's worth, the game isn't on IJ or tumblr. It's a small-scale game so we've decided to host it on LJ, which is where it was hosted even when IJ hit its highest point (and most prospective players are more familiar with it, etc.)

Would gdocs work well with real time games? We're trying to use something that most people will have access to and which will work for scening in real time (scenes via e-mail are still possible if people need it).

Thank you!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

droa
2013-07-13 11:57 pm UTC (link)

Seconding the fact that AIM still has a reasonable presence with IJ RPers, though very few people still use it for actual RP as opposed to talking about RP -- plotting, character development, etc.

Google Docs are IJ RP's current bread and butter. Some people still write things out on IJ's actual site, but over the past few years I've found that number seems to have decreased pretty significantly. Writing in Google Docs and chatting with Gchat is extremely popular right now.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

materialise
2013-07-14 12:17 am UTC (link)

The game isn't on IJ, and I think most of our prospective players aren't dedicated RPers as well - they're people who used to be in the old installment of the game, along with people who are interested in this weirdly-specific subject. So something that most, non-RPer people would use would be ideal.

How does Google Docs work for real-time scenes? Is it easy to write things in turns in the space of, say, an hour or two, or is it more like using e-mails or threads? Does it display people's real names (privacy is a concern for some users)? Does Gchat allow group convos?

Sorry if this a lot of questions, haha. Thank you!

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

droa
2013-07-14 12:27 am UTC (link)

No worries. IJ is a fairly recent RP acquisition for me, so I totally get the non-IJ perspectives. If your crew is as odds and ends as you describe, I'm sure they'd all be pragmatic and savvy enough to determine their own best methods.

That said, gdocs work great for real-time writing -- it is super convenient for quick logs or quick writers, if you want to bang something out in the aforementioned hour or two. I am not the biggest fan of them, personally, but almost every RPer I currently know would yank out their own eyeteeth before they lost gdoc access. It's basically a Word document which you can either make public or semi-public (share the link with select parties), and from thereon in all writing is real-time. While you're writing, whomever you're logging with could conceivably go back and fix typos at the same time.

I find it difficult to compare to e-mail or threads, as it is uniquely part of this newer generation of cloud-based services. The names which get displayed in a gdoc are whatever you have attached to your e-mail account, so I suppose you could either tweak how your name displays on e-mail, or just use an RP-only address. Group convos are also doable -- a nice perk is that if you use an actual gmail account, chats get auto-logged to your e-mail account, should you want to later reference them -- and gchat is perhaps a bit more stripped-down than all the features you have in Skype chats.

I hope that info is helpful, and please don't hesitate to throw any other questions out there.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	ceridwensblood 2013-07-17 03:26 pm UTC (link)
	This won't solve your IM issue, but a suggestion you might want to check out for group scenes is Chatzy. It's fairly simple to use and, I think, you get some decent Admin/Mod tools without having to resort to $$$ for them. (Reply to this)

parkerkennedy
2013-07-18 09:32 pm UTC (link)

aim is still a huge part of the IJ world. though, customs and threading have become more widely accepted as of the past year or so. definitely look into chatzy.com like the person of my suggested. it's free but keep in mind it does NOT keep logs beyond a certain megabyte count. so if you've got an extensive scene you're writing i would constantly copy/paste to a word or text document of some sort or even email it to yourself because it'll just delete the history of the chat unless you pay a stupid amount of money for the ROOM not the actual account you've registered. it is very flexible for little things, though, and easily accessible when mobile on most smart phones. with that said if someone happens to find the room you're chatting in they can easily hop into it or simply stalk it. also, i've never heard of anyone using google docs for writing but it's a neat idea for sure. personally, i'm in one LJ group and i just use customs and threads there. IJ is where i'm a bit more flexible with my social sources.

(Reply to this)