Messaging
osDate includes several methods to allow communication between users: internal mailbox / messaging, popup messages, live chats, and the phpBB forum. This file discusses how they work, and some advantages and disadvantages to each.
Internal Mailbox
This is the recommend method of communication among users. If messaging is enabled for a particular user, they will see the following link in their User control panel.
Messages can be sent to a user by clicking on the "Send Message" link in their profile, as shown here. This may look different if you have popups disabled in your global configuration options, or if you are using a different version of osDate or a different template from the one show below. In any case, the messaging link will be somewhere on the user's profile.
To enable or disable messaging, login to the admin panel, then click on "Membership Management" and choose the membership level (Gold, etc.) that you wish to edit, then un-check the messaging option. This might be called "Messaging" or "Internal Messaging" or something similar, depending on your version of osDate.
Popup Messaging
This is also known as the "Instant Messenger" although it's not actually "instant" (there is a 30-second delay to reduce server loads). This is simply a way to get an attention-grabbing message to someone who is currently online. For example, if you suspect that a user is online and need an immediate response, you could send them a popup message.
There are a lot of caveats when using this feature, however. There are two types of popups: auto-popups and user-generated popups. The first is the type of popup that Javascript generates automatically, and which are typically blocked by popup blockers. The second type of popup only appears when a user clicks on a link to initiate the popup. That type of popup is not blocked by most popup blockers. Unfortuantely, this system uses the first type of popup, which means that many users will not be able to view the instant messages since they will be blocked.
What can you do? Well, you can caution users about the popup blocking, and ask them to disable popups while browsing your dating site. You can also give them detailed instructions on how to "allow" some sites to show popups, so that they can keep their popup blocker enabled, but still receive the popup instant messages.
The instant messenger is a rectangular region on the left side of the osDate page, and looks something like this... please note that to send a message, you must select a user's name, so that it's highlighted in green, as shown below. Your instant messenger tool may look slightly different depending on the version of osDate that you are using. If no user is selected (as on the right below) then the popup will not send, even if you click "Send".
The popups look something like this. The user sees the message with a small textbox where a reply can be entered. The popup closes when the reply is sent. Remember: this tool isn't intended to be a full-fledged "chat" system like FlashChat, but rather a simple way to get a quick message across.
If you need to disable a popup blocker, here are a few things to check. Most browsers, like IE and Mozilla have this in a "Tools" or "Options" panel of the web browser menu, typically in a "Privacy" area.
In Mozilla Firefox, the option is in the Content tab, at the top. You can choose the Allowed Sites in the button at the top right of this window.
In Internet Explorer, the option is at the bottom of the Privacy tab, in the Internet Options window. The Settings button allows you to specify sites for which popups are permissible.
There is one more important consideration: if you have any toolbars installed with your browsers, or special plug-ins or desktop security software, these might also block your popups, even if popups are enabled in your web browsers. For example, I have the Google toolbar, which has its own popup blocker.
In the Google Toolbar options, the Popup Blocker is near the top, and must also be disabled. Toolbars from MSN, AOL, Yahoo, and several other companies have similar options to block popups. Also, some desktop software, including products from McAfee and Symantec, offer popup-blocking features. In other words, you may have to adjust multiple settings before this feature actually works. You can see why a lot of osDate admins prefer to disable the instant messenger.
You can disable the instant messenger in the admin panel "Membership Management" page, as shown below. Be sure to do this for all membership levels.
