A possible avenue for awesome PHP chat...

[Lazy Bastard]

http://phpopenchat.org/

Looks promising. There are also quite a few others here, if it turns out that isn't to our liking:

http://php.resourceindex.com/Complete_Scripts/Chat/

*Edit: I changed "possibly" to "possible" in the subject...heh.*

[LiquidManZero]

That's an interesting idea.

[cc]

That'd be cool if it worked with IRC.

I still don't think I'd be able to chat during work though, it seems that IRC connections are blocked. (Not sure if it's by port, or if it recognizes an IRC connection and then puts the halt on it)

[Lazy Bastard]

Heh, what you speak of is one of the reasons I'd like to implement something like this. The other is that it'd be cool to integrate chat with the site/forums in some way...

[LiquidManZero]

While it's possible to do an irc client using php, it's not practical. You'd be better off using cgi:irc, which would likely severely piss off the hosting. (if it was running here anyway, it uses a shitload of bandwidth to operate)

[Lazy Bastard]

Yeah...I was mostly just referring to replacing IRC chat with some form of PHP chat, if it were viable and worth the tradeoffs.

[Lazy Bastard]

Heh, to CCV: I tried using a prog called Hide IP Platinum. Since it works by using proxies in many different countries, I can bypass most of what WebSense does. I still haven't managed to use IRC yet, but I think that's because HIPP doesn't control java properly. I'll try it with a stand-alone IRC app, and let you know.

[Edit] - No dice; there's some way WebSense is still catching IRC...

[cc]

Ah.

Yeah, I'm not sure what we have here, and I can't easily check, since the data center where the central hub of our WAN, and all the security stuff is kept, is 400 miles away.

Oh, and I think I've tried cgi:irc, and it didn't work either.

I could setup my VPN connection at home, then RDP into my desktop to chat, but I don't feel like keeping the VPN running all day. Maybe with PuTTy.. I'll look into setting that up.