I would not mind paying for this at all. Even on VPS or dedicated 200 people in your chat will take some effect on your website. I would much rather have that power be used on my other pages. $80 a year isn't that bad, seeing that you pay about the same for shared hosting.

i like and dislike this feature

don't get me wrong i do appreciate the fact that IPB have provided free software that allows us users to have a chat
the only dislike i have is the allowed limit i to do feel that 5 is a low limit
i think 10 would be good for both "low" and "medium" sized sites

an i think if you want anymore than that you have to pay for more.
After taking over the site i have now, ive started getting more and more activity. Now i have very loyal members
who would stay on chat all day if need be to help others. But people who havnt had chance to experiance the chat dont really get a go

where as if it was set to 10 people, it would be open to those that dont get a peek in

now the other alternative could be that you set it to allow a user to be in that chat room for an hour a day? (unless your admin etc)
an hour is fair i think

and it also gives all users a fair run of the chat

i like and dislike this feature

don't get me wrong i do appreciate the fact that IPB have provided free software that allows us users to have a chat

the only dislike i have is the allowed limit i to do feel that 5 is a low limit

i think 10 would be good for both "low" and "medium" sized sites

an i think if you want anymore than that you have to pay for more.

After taking over the site i have now, ive started getting more and more activity. Now i have very loyal members

who would stay on chat all day if need be to help others. But people who havnt had chance to experiance the chat dont really get a go

where as if it was set to 10 people, it would be open to those that dont get a peek in

now the other alternative could be that you set it to allow a user to be in that chat room for an hour a day? (unless your admin etc)

an hour is fair i think

and it also gives all users a fair run of the chat

For you, all you need is 10 user free chat. Someone else "only" wants 15 users.

We've found that 5 users is very good for small communities. If your members really do enjoy the chat that much, why not opt for the upgrade? When you break down the cost, it's less than two dollars per month.

and how much are the costs
for say

10 users
15 users
20 users etc

and how much are the costs

for say

10 users

15 users

20 users etc

http://www.invisionpower.com/products/chat/pricing.php :)

I don't know what's the big deal with 5 users limit. My board has 35-40 members online on a daily basis and none of them even uses it. I'm not sure they even know it's there! (w00t)

As the person who started this topic, I have changed my mind since first posting.

5 is fine as a free taster to the app.

I am currently running a 240 user version and even then do not go above 5 user.

Yes, a 5 user limit covers the vast majority of our customers, even those with larger sites. If you need more capacity, there are plans available for you, but most of our customers don't have to pay a dime and run just fine with IP.Chat 5 free users.

Fun fact: The only chat room I've seen, to date, go over 5 active online users is here on our own forums, and that's only been (1) when we first opened the service (everyone wanted to check it out) and (2) when I specifically posted a topic asking people to join.

www.polarispros.com

I only had 100 members starting out when they insisted I buy the upgrade because guys could not get in. I could not believe the guys loved the chat so much. In fact it scared me to think that useful knowledge that could be on the forum for others to see was being transferred on the chat lol. I upgraded to 20 and it has went over 5 a LOT. I am happy to see the guys enjoy the site. I was averaging 8-10% donating members too which I thought was unheard of.

I am very willing to pay for it if they want to use it. Whining about paying for a a service? I am not.

www.polarispros.com

I only had 100 members starting out when they insisted I buy the upgrade because guys could not get in. I could not believe the guys loved the chat so much. In fact it scared me to think that useful knowledge that could be on the forum for others to see was being transferred on the chat lol. I upgraded to 20 and it has went over 5 a LOT. I am happy to see the guys enjoy the site. I was averaging 8-10% donating members too which I thought was unheard of.

I am very willing to pay for it if they want to use it. Whining about paying for a a service? I am not.

Great to hear that you are making good use of it. :D

(You'll note my reply was from December of 2009 - about a year ago...chat has grown for some of our customers since then)

I don't know what's the big deal with 5 users limit. My board has 35-40 members online on a daily basis and none of them even uses it. I'm not sure they even know it's there! (w00t)

Likewise... and I used to pay a not insignificant subscription for a little used chat facility!