Chatzy Review September 2020

Chatzy has not yet released an app version of the site, which can be a turn-off for people especially when the site openly advertises itself as an alternative for Facebook or Skype. However, the site has a pretty good mobile version and has a screen option where you can edit your screen settings. When you're using the mobile app, do take note that you will not be able to zoom in or zoom out of the site's page.

The mobile site's interface is pretty similar to the desktop version. It is basic and old which kind of brings you back to when dial-up connections were still in. Despite its prehistoric interface, the mobile site is pretty functional. It offers an easier chat experience compared to the desktop version. The pages have also adjusted pretty well on the mobile screen except for the "My Rooms" page where you have to scroll sideways to see the full chatroom details. 

Another good thing about the mobile version is that it is also customizable. That means you can change the skin according to your preference. The app allows you to change your background colour or image, default font style, and many more.2

I have used Chatzy a few years back to create a live chat for my blog where I used to interact with my readers. But I wasn't able to maintain my blog and the chatroom I created eventually died. Just recently I decided to check and see if the site still works (or exists lol). And to my surprise, not only does it still work, but the site also looked like it didn't have a single upgrade since the last time I used it. From the site's interface down to its functions, everything was the same. I actually don't know what to feel about that. Chatzy is still good, but I just don't get why the site didn't try to improve its interface. Despite that, the site still has a lot of public chat rooms available for everyone. It's just a struggle to find which rooms are active and which ones are dead. I hope they try and update the site, or maybe add a few more features to make it more interesting.

- Jason (25)

Design and Usability

Chatzy is made for the modern young people, but it doesn't leave out functionality out and tries to create a balance these two aspects.

You may feel like the features are cluttered at first, but you will get used to it as it is made for multiple conversations at a time.

Its buttons and functions are also working properly, no problem here, but there is little to no security features for safety.

Chatzy sure knows how to make chat rooms more lively. Most of its special features are focused on making your chat room experience fun and exciting. It also has useful features that could help administrators and moderators run their chatrooms smoothly. The following are the list of special features you can enjoy:

When you visit a room in Chatzy, you will have an option to add a 'Visitor Status.' This is a personal message that is shown on the visitor pane. You can change your status by hovering over your icon on the visitor pane or by typing in these commands:

• /status <message> This updates your online status.
• /away <message> This marks you away and allows you to customise an away message and inform people what you are doing or when will you be back.
• /leave <message>  This makes you exit the chatroom and at the same time leave a message to everyone, so they'll know that you're not around.

Chatzy allows you to send private messages to other members that no one else can see, not even the room administrator. To send a private message, you can either click the visitor's name on the visitor panel or type in the /pm [name] [message] code in the chat.

This is the list of all the private messages you have received from all the rooms you have joined. They can be viewed under "My Messages." These messages are only locally stored in your browser.

Global messages are like private messages. The difference between the two is that global messages are sent to all the room members. Only room administrators and moderators can send global messages by default. If you are the room administrator, you can change your room settings if you want to allow everyone to be able to send global messages.

The 'Room Board' is the small text you see on the upper part of the chat room. This can be a moving text or a highlighted text that contains a message or a room rules reminder. You can change the room board settings as often as you want if you have a premium room. 

With this feature, you can follow a conversation silently or create a chat without triggering any system messages. Only room administrators and moderators can use this feature.

Room administrators and moderators have the right to close a chat when they are away or offline. This is done for security purposes. If you want to change your room's availability, type /close on the chat prompt to close, and type /open to open it back.

You can choose to silence a newbie in your room. Newbies are those who entered your room for the first time without an invitation. Only premium rooms can automatically silence newbies. You can also choose to silence unregistered users, registered users who only has been a member for less than 24 hours, and all new members in general.

This feature allows you to ignore a certain person in the room. By ignoring a visitor, you will not be able to see new posts or private messages from that person.