Floris
25th February 2007, 12:12 PM
Hey there, you want to add a chat section to your web site? We recommend to use a java solution (http://www.vbulletin-chat.com/showthread.php?t=24433). However, if some of your members have problems connecting with it you can offer them an alternative cgi:irc solution that will get them on the same chat network, in the same channel. This is a little cgi program you can put in a directory and simply point your users to it. This is free, and the vBFans chat network can be used for free too. We offer the IRC server and everything involved at no cost. So you can quickly get started and have fun with the members on your web site.
You could use cgi:irc chat as a live chat solution for support to customers. Or to offer live chat for pre-sales questions. Or simply a place for your regular members to hang out in and discuss your forums. Everybody uses it and it is easy to upgrade and configure.
Please note that we are not in affiliation with cgi:irc, but we do think they're good and easy to use. We recommend them strongly over all the other cgi chat programs out there!
Requirements and an important notice
1. Ability to run CGI scripts using Perl 5.004 or greater
2. UNIX based system
3. Acceptable use policy allows access to IRC ===> So check with your host if they allow this script!
Step 1. Get the CGI software.
This free software can be downloaded by everybody and installed on windows and linux based systems. So go ahead over to cgiirc.sourceforce.net (http://cgiirc.sourceforge.net/download/) and download the latest version.
Step 2. Unpack the downloaded software.
Unpacked the directory will have a few .cgi files and a bunch of other files. The first thing you want to do is rename the cgiirc-0.5.9/ directory to just simple: chatcgi
Step 3. Configure the cgiirc.config file.
You will need to point the cgi program to the right irc server and chat channel. You can use our chat network for free, and we run all the services and applications needed to get a proper chat experience. Our network is online 24/7 and has an 99% uptime. So open your cgiirc.config file with your favorite text editor and point it to the server irc.vBulletin-Chat.com on port 6667, and the channel #chat (or your own channel of course).
And save the file.
Step 4. Uploading the chat directory.
Now that we have the files downloaded, unpacked, renamed and configured, it is time to upload the chatcgi/ directory to your web server.
Notice: Your web server must support CGI and you must know how to chmod a file to 755!
*. Copy or upload all the files to your cgi-bin directory, and put the images directory in the correct location (may or may not be inside the cgi-bin directory).
If you don't want to the docs directory does not need to be uploaded to the server.
*. Check that all the files have the correct permissions and so on
Step 5. Test the chat applet.
Now you're basically done! One thing to do is to make sure you can load the applet and that it connects to our chat server and joins your chat channel. The chat can be called from the browser now by going to http://www.yoursite.com/cgi-bin/chatcgi/irc.cgi (obviously replace yoursite.com with your own web site address.
Once loaded you get a page with a chat window. On the right you can see your nickname in a column and on the left you can enter text and see the result in the channel. There are a few buttons in the bottom of the chat applet. One is the #channel name, and the other is the "Status" window. Make sure you've clicked on #channel first, to put the focus on the chat window.
Additional Information: We take security and privacy very high, on our chat network we automatically MASK the hostnames. So nobody but the admins of the chat server can view the real host address you connect with. This gives you privacy and avoids that people can abuse your connection. For free we also offer fake virtual hostmasks. Ask about this in #help.
Our chat network uses round robin dns, meaning if one of our chat servers is unreachable you will get connected to the next one randomly the next time you try to connect. Ensuring that our network is always online. We have multiple servers in one network and can hold up to 2500+ people at the same second, every second. With the ability to expand to tens of thousands of online users. We're looking forward to the members of your site being a part of our network!
A quick summery
* Get CGI:IRC, download and unpack it.
* Configure it, rename a directory and a file, and edit the file to point to the irc server and auto join your chat channel.
* Upload CGI:IRC and test it.
And when done, you can tell your users to come check it out!
You could use cgi:irc chat as a live chat solution for support to customers. Or to offer live chat for pre-sales questions. Or simply a place for your regular members to hang out in and discuss your forums. Everybody uses it and it is easy to upgrade and configure.
Please note that we are not in affiliation with cgi:irc, but we do think they're good and easy to use. We recommend them strongly over all the other cgi chat programs out there!
Requirements and an important notice
1. Ability to run CGI scripts using Perl 5.004 or greater
2. UNIX based system
3. Acceptable use policy allows access to IRC ===> So check with your host if they allow this script!
Step 1. Get the CGI software.
This free software can be downloaded by everybody and installed on windows and linux based systems. So go ahead over to cgiirc.sourceforce.net (http://cgiirc.sourceforge.net/download/) and download the latest version.
Step 2. Unpack the downloaded software.
Unpacked the directory will have a few .cgi files and a bunch of other files. The first thing you want to do is rename the cgiirc-0.5.9/ directory to just simple: chatcgi
Step 3. Configure the cgiirc.config file.
You will need to point the cgi program to the right irc server and chat channel. You can use our chat network for free, and we run all the services and applications needed to get a proper chat experience. Our network is online 24/7 and has an 99% uptime. So open your cgiirc.config file with your favorite text editor and point it to the server irc.vBulletin-Chat.com on port 6667, and the channel #chat (or your own channel of course).
And save the file.
Step 4. Uploading the chat directory.
Now that we have the files downloaded, unpacked, renamed and configured, it is time to upload the chatcgi/ directory to your web server.
Notice: Your web server must support CGI and you must know how to chmod a file to 755!
*. Copy or upload all the files to your cgi-bin directory, and put the images directory in the correct location (may or may not be inside the cgi-bin directory).
If you don't want to the docs directory does not need to be uploaded to the server.
*. Check that all the files have the correct permissions and so on
Step 5. Test the chat applet.
Now you're basically done! One thing to do is to make sure you can load the applet and that it connects to our chat server and joins your chat channel. The chat can be called from the browser now by going to http://www.yoursite.com/cgi-bin/chatcgi/irc.cgi (obviously replace yoursite.com with your own web site address.
Once loaded you get a page with a chat window. On the right you can see your nickname in a column and on the left you can enter text and see the result in the channel. There are a few buttons in the bottom of the chat applet. One is the #channel name, and the other is the "Status" window. Make sure you've clicked on #channel first, to put the focus on the chat window.
Additional Information: We take security and privacy very high, on our chat network we automatically MASK the hostnames. So nobody but the admins of the chat server can view the real host address you connect with. This gives you privacy and avoids that people can abuse your connection. For free we also offer fake virtual hostmasks. Ask about this in #help.
Our chat network uses round robin dns, meaning if one of our chat servers is unreachable you will get connected to the next one randomly the next time you try to connect. Ensuring that our network is always online. We have multiple servers in one network and can hold up to 2500+ people at the same second, every second. With the ability to expand to tens of thousands of online users. We're looking forward to the members of your site being a part of our network!
A quick summery
* Get CGI:IRC, download and unpack it.
* Configure it, rename a directory and a file, and edit the file to point to the irc server and auto join your chat channel.
* Upload CGI:IRC and test it.
And when done, you can tell your users to come check it out!