How to create permanent chatrooms in Messenger?

Dear @Alexey

I would like to create permanent chatrooms organized by categories in Messenger. 

E.g. Chatrooms called:

  • Art
  • Business
  • Music
  • Technology
  • Etc.

Users in a chatroom will discuss about that specific topic. Also, they should be able to enter by themselves (without the need of being added by someone) or leave those chatrooms at any time. But those chatrooms link/pages should always remain visible to all users in Messenger.

How can that be done?

I have another question: How to enable the shoutbox in Messenger when it’s invisible or disabled on the homepage? (the same way it’s done here on unacms.com) 

The problem is for the shoutbox to show in someone’s Messenger, the person has to use it first on the homepage. if a user doesn’t type something in it on the homepage, it won’t show in Messenger.

Here on unacms.com, How have you managed to get it in the Messenger while it’s disabled on the homepage?

Thanks

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Replies (11)

    • The core challenge here isn’t just creating chatrooms, but how to manage visibility and discovery when you potentially have hundreds of thousands of chatrooms and millions of users.

      Before requesting advanced features like public permanent chatrooms or shoutbox improvements, I believe it’s essential to fix some basic but important issues first.

      For example, if I set the Page Width to 1280 in the Designer, the Messenger module should respect this value like any other module on the site. Right now, it doesn’t, and that affects the overall site layout consistency.

      Also, a “Go to start” button inside conversations is a simple but necessary feature. It should allow users to quickly jump to the beginning of a chat without endlessly scrolling.

      If these basic adjustments are implemented first, then it would make sense to move forward with more advanced requests like managing thousands of chatrooms, categories, and shoutbox behaviors.

      • Hi, dear @Alexey, for whatever reasons, you have completely ignored me for months, even after sending you a private message. Please would you mind helping me with my questions above when you have a chance? Thank you!

        • Hello,

          I definitely didn't mean to ignore your message - sometimes when there are many conversations happening at once, a message can simply get lost in the flow. So please don't hesitate to remind me next time if I don't reply - I truly don't mind. 🙂

          Regarding your questions:

          Chatrooms by category: By default, UNA Messenger doesn't support chat categories, but something similar is planned for the future - like Telegram-style public channels, where users can join and view all open discussions. For now, you can create Groups for each of your categories and place the Messenger block on the group's view page. When a user visits that page, they will automatically join the related chat. In this way, each category can have its own discussion space that users can freely access.

          Shoutbox visibility: The Shoutbox is a special block that exists only on the homepage and works a bit differently from regular chats. You're right - it appears in Messenger only after the user has participated in it from the homepage. To make it behave like a public chat (available in Messenger for everyone), the Shoutbox would need a small modification - for example, allowing users to “join” automatically or treating it as a public chat connected to a visible page.

          We'll add this idea to our feature list for future improvements.

          • Hello,

            1. The Messenger page does not follow the general site layout rules, as it was specifically designed as an application-style interface that occupies the maximum available space on any device. Other blocks should not be placed on this page, since they interfere with proper functionality. All layout dimensions are calculated dynamically. If this behavior causes layout inconsistencies on your site, we can consider introducing an optional parameter to control its width manually.
            2. Regarding the "Go to start" functionality, if I understand correctly, you mean quickly navigating to the beginning of the chat. By default, there is an arrow in the bottom right corner that appears when you scroll up in the conversation. If this is not working as expected, please clarify the issue.

            • I

              Hi - after updating UNA 13 to una 14 pages do not work, error 500 - can you please fix it? I thought that automated deploy and updates will make it more certain to work? :/ Pages repport error 500.. please help @Alexey image_transcoder.php?o=sys_images_editor&h=2873&dpx=2&t=1760619029

              • I

                image_transcoder.php?o=sys_images_editor&h=2872&dpx=2&t=1760618023I don't think it's the memory limit since UNA set it by default, could it be the ini file?

                • I

                  I think the problem is UNA instaling version 13 Spacenook in the first place, why does it not install v.14 as the latest? Stuck on upgrading after the reinstall

                  • Thanks a lot for your reply. I was really concerned but thank you for reassuring me.

                    I understand what you said about chatrooms by category. Yes , the Telegram-style public channels will definately be a good feature,

                    Regarding the Messenger block in the group,,

                    • Shoud it necessary be on the group's view page? Can it be placed on a separate (dedicated) page whithin the group?
                    • Can that Messenger block created in a group be placed on a custom page outside the group and be accessible to any member (non-group members)?

                    Regarding the Shoutbox visibility, you said:

                    To make it behave like a public chat (available in Messenger for everyone), the Shoutbox would need a small modification - for example, allowing users to “join” automatically or treating it as a public chat connected to a visible page.

                    Where is the shoutbox settings page? I couldn't find it. I would like to adjust the settings according to what you have suggested above. Thanks!

                    • Hello,

                      Regarding your second question - the Messenger module is designed in a flexible way, so its block can be placed on any page that's available through the Page Builder. Each Messenger block is linked to the specific page URL where it's placed, meaning that this URL must be unique. If the page has access restrictions (for example, based on membership levels), the Messenger block won't be visible to users who don't have permission to access that page.

                      If you place the Messenger block within a module's view page, then the corresponding conversation will appear on the main Messenger page under the section with the group's name, so it will be easy to locate later.

                      So, in general - yes, you can place the Messenger block on any page, as long as the page URL is unique, accessible, and can be managed via Studio → Builder.

                      As for the Shoutbox, I may have expressed myself unclearly earlier - I meant that this would require some code modifications, not just configuration changes in the settings.

                      • Hello!

                        From what I understand, your issue is already being worked on.

                        • Great info tho whole post

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