ChatBoks
 | |
| Trading name | ChatBoks |
|---|---|
| Type | Social Media Platform |
| Industry |
|
| Founded | 1667 AN |
| Headquarters | Stonewall, Wrighthaven, Ciric Confederacy |
| Key people | Hannah Marborne |
ChatBoks is a social media platform owned and operated by the Andromeda Tech Corporation that maintains a website and an app for smart phones. Users primarily interact on the service by communicating through short (200 character maximum limit) posts that users can attach images, videos, and other media to (with a maximum data limit). Registered users are able to like, dislike, repost, and comment on any other user's posts, however users that do not own an account can only view posts. ChatBoks can only be accessed through its website interface and its app, which is, similar to Transmission, technically only allowed on phones developed by Andromeda Mobile, but confederate citizens have found workarounds to download the app on foreign smart phones. ChatBoks is headquartered in Stonewall, in the Ciric Confederacy.
Founded in 1667 AN by Hannah Marborne, ChatBoks became instantly popular in the confederacy, and reached popularity in Caradia as well, having eighteen million users as of 1680 AN. It is the second most visited website in the confederacy after the Andromeda search engine. Since its inception, ChatBoks has had a somewhat stained reputation due to the amount of debates and "flamewars" that have taken place on the site, giving it a reputation for drama. Nonetheless, it remains an important social media site. It is also known for the speed at which events circulate, and its reputation as a news-bringer has caused several news companies to create ChatBoks accounts in order to help reach a wider audience.
ChatBoks is available in the following language translations:
Features
Posting
By default, all posts from all users are publicly visible to anyone visiting the site, including users who do not have registered accounts. However, users are able to restrict their posts to only be allowed to be viewed by their followers. Posts can be made from the official ChatBoks website or from the ChatBoks external application, which is available to desktop computers, laptops, and smart phones. Registered users can "follow" other users in order to get notifications shen they post or comment. Users can also directly forward a post to their own feed, known as a "repost". Posts are also rated by users having the option to "like" or "dislike" individual posts. Users can also comment on posts, posting a message that can be read when users view the original post.
Posts can also be categorised by putting a phrase after a # (pound or hashtag) symbol, though formerly the § (section) symbol was used. These serve to effectively categorise posts amongst multiple users so that users can follow specific topics, and also provide an easy method to categorise what topics are "trending" by allowing the site to count the number of posts in each category. Similarly, users can be notified on an individual's post by prefixing their username with an @ (at) symbol. This is not dependent on whether the recipient of the mention is following the user mentioning them, and allows users to specifically notify other users of their post. Users can also "block" other users, disallowing the blocker from seeing any of the posts of the person they blocked.
Direct Messaging
Direct messaging (DMing) refers to when a user directly sends a message to another user that is private to all other users. It is similar to "texting" features of most modern smartphones, with users being able to send a text message with a possible attachment to an individual. ChatBoks also allows users to create user-groups and create a "group chat" so that the users in the group can send DMs that can be viewed only by all other members of the user-group.
Live Streaming
ChatBoks has, since 1677 AN allowed its userbase to record live streamed videos for all users, registered or not, to view. Any registered user is allowed to start a livestream video that records either out of the camera of the device the user is accessing ChatBoks on or the screen of the device. ChatBoks users have streamed various events, however video game streaming is the most popular individual stream watched by users. ChatBoks itself owns a channel on the streaming service that integrates a twenty-four hour stream that ChatBoks partners stream events through. ChatBoks itself has also streamed major events, especially in sports and politics, such as the debates leading up to the 1679 AN elections in the Ciric Confederacy and recent confederate hockey and football tournaments.
Users utilising the livestreaming service can make money off of the service as a content creator, however very little of the money made by most livestreamers comes form the ChatBoks platform itself. ChatBoks registered users can subscribe to streamer's channels on the streaming service for a monthly fee, some of which is given to the streamer, but most revenue made by ChatBoks streamers is made from donations from the stream viewers. Streamers, especially more prolific ones, have been known to accept corporate sponsorships. As these streaming services almost always stream video games, many of the more popular streamers are professional gamers, competing in eSports leagues. These leagues are often partnered with ChatBoks, and ChatBoks will stream eSports events on its official channel.
Trivia
- Edward Coldstone was the first person ever to reach one million followers on ChatBoks.
- ChatBoks's working title in development was "Likit".
- ChatBoks was a unicorn before it went public.
