What is it?

X7 Chat is free, open source software written in PHP to provide feature-rich chat rooms. The X7 Chat project was started in October of 2003. The original goal was to create a “click-free” free chat script. After the first goal was met, the project was expanded. New features were added, and the script grew until it reached the point that it is at today, with thousands of lines of code and over 25,000 downloads. X7 Chat is free software with no ads or limitations. It can be modified and redistributed in any way as long as the X7 Chat copyright logo remains in place. New features based on suggestions that users have sent in are added almost daily, and the software can be edited by users to add their own features and changes as well.

Who is it for?

X7 Chat is for anyone wishing to establish one or more chat rooms. The primary use of a chat room is to communicate or share information with a group of other users. Individuals or businesses of all sizes may choose to create chat rooms to establish and maintain contact with friends and associates in the online community. Chat rooms are also used to create communities of people with similar interests and hobbies and may also host online games.

Features

Current general features of X7 Chat 2 include skin support, multi-language support, private message logging, custom and predefined status messages, Offline Message support, private chats between two members, and full message styling, font, font size, font color, and font style. User features include full profile, full settings panel, the ability to ignore users, and a user-level word filter. Room features include an unlimited number of rooms that can be public, private, or password protected, moderated rooms where only voiced members can speak, message logging, a room-level word filter, and the ability to ban users from a specific room.

The software also provides an Operator, Voice and Mute list that allows the administrator to control who has what permissions in the room. Administrator features include invisibility and the ability to ban users by IP, E-Mail and Username either for a certain time period or forever. X7 provides live news to inform administrators when new updates or fixes are released. The mass mail ability allows administrators to email all members at the same time. The calendar allows administrators to inform members of group chats and other events. The bandwidth panel allows administrators to limit the amount of bandwidth that each person can use each month and also allows them to view the current bandwidth usage of each member. The word filter allows censorship of bad words and the theme manager allows the editing and deleting of existing themes as well as the installation of new ones. Everything from the maximum number of characters in a username to the GD library is customizable.

Compatibility

X7 Chat 2 requires MySQL database and PHP for installation. The software is compatible with several operating systems including Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, OSX, and Sun. The chat room is written in PHP, which means no browser plugins such as Flash or Java are required. The software integrates with Invision Board 1.X and 2.X, Mambo 4.5.X, MercuryBoard 1.1.X, phpBB 2.0.X, phpNuke 7.X, PostNuke 0.075, XMB 1.9, SMF 1.X, Xoops, and YabbSE 1.5.X. The newest version currently in development, X7 Chat 3 LE, will be compatible with any Web host, and neither PHP nor MySQL support will be required.

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