User:Brain 41/sandbox

Website

Itsachat is an online chat service that allows users to chat using a Flash based driven server. Members are also able to create profiles, post blogs, upload pictures, play arcade games, and post comments to a live wall that feeds to the sites main page. A karmatic site point system is in place for users to enjoy as well.

History

Itsachat was established in July of 2007 in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada. The website went live in November 2007 and has been open to registrations since that time.

Statistics

Itsachat.com is ranked #326,382 in the world according to the three-month Alexa traffic rankings. Visitors to this site spend roughly 117 minutes per visit to the site and 66 seconds per pageview. Visitors to the site view 37.0 unique pages each day on average, and roughly 62% of visitors to the site come from Canada, where it has attained a traffic rank of 14,410. Itsachat.com is relatively popular among users in the city of Winnipeg (where it is ranked #229).

Development

Itsachat chat rooms use a flash based driven server. An HTML chat is also available.

Main Page

Chat

Itsachat offers a Flash chat environment complete with flashy emotes, sounds, backgrounds, themes, media streams, a complete spectrum of font and color selection. The chat is also available in HTML format for those who prefer not to use flash. Currently there are 11 rooms for users to enter and chat with friends. Each chatroom has a moderator, except for one, currently name the Badlands. The moderators are current Itsa members that have earned respect in the Itsa community and are given a room of their own to moderate.

Profiles

All Itsachat members are automatically created a site profile when they register and given a site member badge. The profile shows a members statistical info, wall, friends, photos, and blogs. Badge display cases are also visible on a member profile. Profiles have a layout tab which allows the use to customize their profile with color, background picture and avatar.

Doodle Board

Itsachat offers a doodle board that allows members to save the images they have made. If their image gets posted to the itsadoodles photo album they are awarded 25kp for their picture. The doodle board can host up to 16 artists at one time and presently there are over 1400 doodles that have been made at itsachat.

Latest

On this page it shows a few different things. At the top of the page is the Karma Points leader board. The workings of Karma Points will be explained further in this article. However it is here that any particular user can see where they stack up too the top users of Itsa. Next on the page is the recent topics added in the forum section of Itsa. This part gives a brief overview on the popularity of each post, based off of up/down votes and replies and views. Also it shows the subject, sub-category it was posted in, the original poster and the date of the last response.

Games

Itsachat has an arcade with over 100 flash games. Members compete for 1st place crowns. Arcade boss Auto badges are awarded to gamers for their collection of arcade crowns. A member is awarded 25kp for winning a first place arcade crown.

Wall

Wall Feed is the expanded version of the wall feed on the main page. This particular feed shows the limit of wall posts of 100 news feed updates, all at once. Whereas the Wall Feed displayed on the main page shows the first 25 and users can select to see more.\

Other Main Page Options

The user menu only appears to registered members, who are logged into the site. Otherwise a login box can be viewed for members to log in or new users to register.

View Account is where the user can view his/her information and where they can edit their personal information. Underneath the user's avatar are a variety of click-able boxes to Edit Profile, Change Password, Delete Account, Avatar (which is to change current one), Inbox, and Logout.

Edit Account this section allows a user to update their personal profile information such as location, interests, time zone, occupation etc. There is also a spot to add a custom profile signature.

Inbox is where all notifications as to people commenting on user's own posts, were poked by another Itsa Member, were given a badge or Karma Points, or personal messages from members. Here the user can delete old message, detemine if message was read or not, see who they were from, the subject of the message, and how old the message has been in their inbox.

Logout option is obviously where the user can log out of the site.

The Forum option will take you to the Forum section of Itsachat. Back when Itsa first started this was very active and a great way to have a conversation on a topic outside of chat. It has currently died off but will be revamped shortly to provide a better user experience. Within the forum however there are a sub forums for different categories, there are: Welcome, Management Corner, Articles, Romper Room, Entertainment, Celebrity Gossip, Writer's Zone, PC Tech, World Views, and Health Discussions. Each of these have sub-categories and then within each of those are the topics in which any user can post a response too.

Profile Page

My Page

This page shows a users avatar, where they can change their *status message*. will show their list of recent visitors to their profile. Also displays their trophy case and user info.

My Layout

This tab lets you upload a picture to use as your display, also known as an avatar pic. Allows you to upload a picture for the background of your profile as well as choose a theme color.

Wall

This is a place where you can post messages. You are able to decide who will see your messages when you adjust the permissions for your wall settings. Your wall allows you to send the same messages to multiple users, as well as send whisper messages (a message that can only be seen by you and the user you have whispered the message to).

Friends

See you list of friends here. Here is where you can also rate your friends.

My Permissions

Use this section to adjust who has access to your profile on itsa. Whether it be only you, only your friends, only site members, or anyone. Itsachat allows their members to set specific permissions for each area of their profile. For example, you may have your blog available for all to see, but have your photos set to only show to the people on your friends list, etc.

Photos

Here you can upload photos of anything you want to display on your profile. You get five karma points for each picture. You can also make albums and give descriptions for each photo posted.

Blog

This area allows you to post blogs using a competant editor that lets you insert pics and decorate your text enabling the user to producue visually eye appealing blogs.

Karma Points

Itsachat has a site wide karma point system enabled that allows users to collect karma points for making comments, submitting blogs and photos etc. Once a users content is posted, up-vote/down-vote arrows are left so other members may come along and add or take away from that posters karma points. In essence a system like this allows users who contribute greatly to the content of the site the ability to be rewarded in karma points, which they can then use to obtain badges for themselves or others.

The Point System

• 1 point-

Making or commenting on a wall post

• 2 points-

Photo and Blog comments

• 5 points-

Posting a picture to profile

• 25 points-

Posting a blog 125 words or more, or Earning a Crown in an Arcade Game

• 250 points-

Recruiting new members to the site

Badges

Itsachat Autobadges

Itsachat users are able to provoke badges that will automatically appear in their auto badge case on their profile after they have accompished certain site tasks/events. For example once a user has uploaded 50 photos they receive the freezeframe auto badge which magically appears in their badge case. Once they have uploaded 100 photos, the badge changes to the shutterbug badge and so forth. itsachat site autobadges can be provoked for: profile votes, photos, blogging, commenting, wall posts, poking, and arcade crown wins. All itsachat members receive a member badge upon registration and start on the clock to collecting their *years spent as a member* badge as well.

Karma Badges

Itsachat has a site wide karmatic point system enabled that allows users to collect karmatic points for making comments, submitting blogs and photos etc. Once a users content is posted, upvote/downvote arrows are left so other members may come along and add or take away from that posters karmatic points. In essence a system like this allows users who contribute greatly to the content of the site the ability to be rewarded in karmatic points, which they can then use to obtain badges for themselves or others.