Hi, I've developed a browser based chat program, similar to IRC, and I'm wondering if there would be any interest in it becoming a new Apache project. You can play with it by going to: http://webconf.soaphub.org/conf/room/test The tool is being used by a number of working groups/technical committees to hold back-channel chats during conference calls. While there isn't anything earth shattering about it, people do seem to like it because it. The key features it provides are: - working in most browsers w/o applets or special downloads - as such it doesn't have firewall issues (unlike some other chat programs) - if you get dropped and rejoin you still see the messages sent while you were gone - manages a queue - handy for managing the queue of speakers during the conf call - people can add/remove themselves w/o interrupting the call - provides a simple voting mechanism for those in the chat - supports private chats with room members - very small footprint - right now just one JSP plus a couple of gifs and wav files
Anyway, like I said its not rocket science but it does appear to have filled a need for some groups. Personally, I'd like to so that it can grow beyond what my limited time (and knowledge) I can devote to it and so that people can use it without worrying about any IP rules (like perhaps even on Apache itself). If it stays with me (or I should say IBM) people may not feel as comfortable hosting it themselves. But, if there's interest in making it an Apache project then once I go thru all of the legal paperwork within IBM to contribute it then it should be free for all to use. I would obviously contrinue to work on it but am hoping that with the help of others it can support all (not just 'most') browsers and even start to include some more interesting features. While I've gotten my immediate manager's approval for this, before I go thru the immense headache of actually dealing with lawyers I'd like to know if there's interest from the Apache side. thanks, -Doug Doug Davis [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
