katydid13...
One option which seems especially viable is to set up a
community forum at groups.MSN.com.
I've had one for quite awhile, and it seems to me it has
all the features you require. It also has the additional
benefit of being free within the limits of the use of 3MB
of online storage.
Extra storage, up to 30 MB, is available for as little
as $19.95. Once you create your community and log in as
administrator, a link will be on your homepage, to
"Get Extra Storage":
Recommended for novice Hotmail users:
10MB of e-mail storage
3MB attachment limit
30MB of MSN Groups storage
$19.95/year
Higher fees give you increased amounts of email storage,
but no increase in MSN Groups storage:
Ideal for sharing digital photos:
25MB of e-mail storage
10MB attachment limit
30MB of MSN Groups storage
$29.95/year
Perfect for storing large files or applications:
50MB of e-mail storage
15MB attachment limit
30MB of MSN Groups storage
$39.95/year
The ultimate solution for Hotmail super-users:
100MB of e-mail storage
20MB attachment limit
30MB of MSN Groups storage
$59.95/year
"Whatever MSN® Extra Storage level you choose, you
automatically get 30MB MSN Groups storage with your
upgrade. Your storage upgrade will also include the
following:
- Automatic upgrade to MSN Hotmail® Plus, which will
provide 2GB of online - storage and additional benefits
when it becomes available this summer
- Exemption from the 30-day Hotmail inactivity policy
- Access to your Hotmail account via Outlook® Express"
http://join.msn.com/content.aspx/?pgmarket=en-us&DI=416&page=features/PG&SV=Groups&SU=groups.msn.com&HL=groups&xAPID=1585&RU=http%3A%2F%2Fg%2Emsn%2Ecom%2F0GRENUS%2F8%3Fru%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fgroups%252Emsn%252Ecom%252Fquotamanagement%252Emsnw%26UChk%3D55AAAAAAAEDoHQxrCwgi5ZWJRFiu34j5ayC%2Aq2ESTaFP%2AGK4RlQc57UD0WWujKfpS6Pt3h4VcBxkzKr38GcLE8WA%24%24&RX=http%3A%2F%2Fgroups%2Emsn%2Ecom%2Fquotamanage
ment%2Emsnw&PS=49452
It has a built-in bulletin board, or forum, where multiple
topics can be opened and discussed. It has an online calendar
for posting deadlines, dates/times for online chat sessions,
or other calendar items. Obviously then, it has an online
chatroom for live chat between members.
As administrator, you have absolute control over the site.
You can setup the community to be hidden from the public
and accessible only by invitation. You can control the
permissions, giving moderators permissions not available
to all members. The site comes with an email address you
can use to send notifications to all members, and members
can set it up to receive emails with every post to the
bulletin board, a daily summary, or a weekly summary.
Static content can be posted on webpages independent
of the bulletin boards, so the discussions can be
archived or deleted at year's end, without losing the
webpages. These webpages can be formatted in html or
simply composed in text and automatically formatted
into webpages. Comments and questions can be posted
in the bulletin boards under an appropriate topic name.
Passwords are chosen by the members when they create
their user id. If a member needs to be removed, you
can simply boot them from the site, and they won't be
able to sign in again without your permission. And
only you will have the admin password.
I haven't put my site to intensive use, but I've found
it to be reliable in my experience.
You need an MSN passport to create a group. It's free
to create one. All you do is choose an ID, giving an
email address and a password. If you already have an
MSN passport, you can create a group right away:
http://g.msn.com/3GRENUS/3_8098_04
Another option, with many of the same features as MSN Groups
is Network 54:
http://www.network54.com/
However, as far as I can tell, there is no way to exclude
people from visiting your site, as you can in MSN Groups:
"Network54.com is a free public hosting service for online
forums, chatrooms, groupware and other Internet services.
Please remember that any information that is disclosed in
these areas becomes public information and you should
exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal
information."
http://www.network54.com/Help/?topic=Privacy
"Premier Services are just $7.95 monthly, with a High Traffic
option (for traffic that exceeds 100,000 page views per month
in your forums) that is only $18.95 per month. We also offer
great discounts when you sign up for a 3 month or a 6 month
plan."
http://www.network54.com/Help/?topic=Premier%20FAQ
Another option, Google Groups 2 Beta offers no limits
to storage, that I have found, and has all the privacy and
reliability you could want. It doesn't have live chat, but
you didn't specify a need for that:
http://groups-beta.google.com/
://www.google.com/googlegroups/about.html
While the group has an email address, and all email is
stored and searchable, they don't indicate whether attachments
are allowed or stored. My guess is, they are not:
://www.google.com/googlegroups/about.html#group_email
There are any number of chat *or* forum programs, many of which
can be found on this page from ToeJumper.net:
http://www.toejumper.net/rescue3/sharechat.htm
Or you might be able to use another web-based service which
seems to offer all modules you need, MultiCity, though I'm
not sure how they all interface together. You would install
them on your current website, and a package which allows 25
simultaneous users in live chat costs $19.95/month, and allows
for up to 10,000 posts on the message boards for the life of
the board. No other indication of storage limits are given:
http://www.multicity.com/servlet/WebsiteServePage/webmasters/comparison/index
Here's MultiCity's Small Business Solutions homepage:
http://www.multicity.com/servlet/WebsiteServePage/webmasters/index
Here's a directory page from Yahoo, where I found MultiCity.
Many other options are listed:
http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Business_to_Business/Communications_and_Networking/Internet_and_World_Wide_Web/Software/Chat/
Of all the options presented here, I believe that MSN Groups
would best serve your needs at a reasonable expense.
Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that
the answer cannot be improved upon by way of a dialog
established through the "Request for Clarification" process.
A user's guide on this topic is on skermit-ga's site, here:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/answer_guide.html#how_clarify
sublime1-ga
Additional information may be found from an exploration of
the links resulting from the Google searches outlined below.
Searches done, via Google:
software chat forum
://www.google.com/search?q=software+chat+forum
software "private chat" "private forum"
://www.google.com/search?q=software+%22private+chat%22+%22private+forum%22
software "multi user" "private chat" "private forum"
://www.google.com/search?q=software+%22multi+user%22+%22private+chat%22+%22private+forum%22
multi user "private chat" "private forum"
://www.google.com/search?q=multi+user+%22private+chat%22+%22private+forum%22
google groups 2 beta
://www.google.com/search?q=google+groups+2+beta |
