GAY.COM Messenger

Chat has always been central to the experience on GAY.COM, and we’ve worked hard to improve it in some exciting new ways.  Even though the Messenger might look familiar, underneath it’s completely rebuilt using modern web technologies.  The web has evolved, and so have we.  Our current chat application uses a Java applet, which will be retired, and replaced with a new chat suite built using AJAX .  What’s that mean to you?  It means we’ve designed the new GAY.COM chat to load fast, run quickly, and just plain work better on more computers.

Messenger will still be your chat control center.  It will let you see which of the members on your lists – like friends and bookmarks – are online now, and give you more choices for online status.  You will be able to set your chat bio quickly, and setup your IM Shield too (more on that soon!)  The My Rooms tab will serve as your shortcut to Group Chat, with links to all of your favorite rooms.

We’ll be sharing more of the new chat features this week, covering Group Chat and IM in more detail.  In the meantime, let us know what you think! 

Jason Herrick, Director, GAY.COM Product Management