Requests for Comment/Global on-wiki chat software

Reason for Request
As some of you may or may not be aware, we use IRC at the current moment for communications, and whilst it's not a bad thing to have; it's scarcely used and generally isn't the most user-friendly protocol. Now, with that being said, IRC is still fine for support emergencies, but what about if a user wants to have an onwiki feature for chat? Yes, I know this either requires a boatload of money, or time coding something worthwhile as an extension, and whilst I realise this is not Wikia; I do also like to note that this is a good feature that they have, even though it is probably used more than the actual Wikia sites themselves, but it'll generally attract more users in the long run. Here's what I've laid out as possible options:


 * ArrowChat, which has a boatload of features, but it's rather expensive for Enterprise, the only version that allows multiple installations: https://www.arrowchat.com/features/all/


 * PHP Free Chat, a completely free and somewhat IRC like chat software developed in PHP, which looks to be highly customizable with MediaWiki integration (but both ArrowChat and this do): http://www.phpfreechat.net/opensource-version


 * The MediaWiki actively maintained chat extension: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:MediaWikiChat


 * The last option I see as a viable one is to create our own version of chat software and maybe base it off of the MediaWiki:Chat extension above.

Whilst obviously ArrowChat is too expensive, I just wanted to put it out there for people to see. The voting can begin below:

Comments

 * Do we actually need ArrowChat installed multiple places or can we install it on a server like misc1 or misc2 then access that installation from anywhere and add a chat room for each wiki that wants it enabled? Although unfortunately we will probably want business at the least if that's the only way to get SSL support. If we can get a cheaper plan and set up SSL ourselves instead of having someone set it up this might be possible. -- Cheers, NDKilla ( Talk • Contribs ) 14:56, 15 January 2017 (UTC)
 * ArrowChat's site says it's opensource, but are they really OSS? Our server needs to be completely FOSS, it's unnegotiable requirements. &mdash; revi  18:08, 15 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Yeah, as I said whilst ArrowChat would be a good option, enterprise for multiple wikis (whilst only a one-time cost) would be expensive.. then you need to take into account upgrade hidden costs (if applicable,) which is why I suggest we build off of the MediaWiki chat extension, or phpfreechat; at least for now. Hope that clears up what I had in mind, but I wanted to post all possible options I saw, regardless if not viable at the current state. GFN (talk) 18:10, 15 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Do we really need a chat function across all of Miraheze, or do we just want to offer chat functionality to particular wikis (including Meta)? The answer to this should help determine the next step in this process. --Robkelk (talk) 01:27, 24 January 2017 (UTC)
 * It's been a month with almost no activity, do we just close this with no action? LulzKiller (talk) 20:41, 25 February 2017 (UTC)

Support
Whilst I don't use IRC, mainly because a lot of the time there is tech-talk that is beyond the scope of my abilities and general understanding. As a result I feel like the odd one out not being to contribute to the conversations. I do, however, like the idea of having this feature an extension of the Mediawiki software and, ultimately, part of Miraheze itself. If I knew I would be able to understand half of what is said I probably would use IRC on a semi-regular basis. Still, I think this is a good idea and so support any sort of on-wiki chat inclusion. Borderman  talk 14:02, 15 January 2017 (UTC)