LexyChat 1.0.0 is here

Version 1.0.0 gives your chat a complete makeover: a new design, a new admin area, a built-in radio player and many improvements for your users. Here you'll find everything that changes for you and your community, and what you should take care of right after the update.

The chat interface is currently available in German only, so menu names below are given in German with an English translation in brackets.

What you need to do now

1. Add your legal notice: Admin area → Rechtliche Seiten (Legal pages) → Impressum (Legal notice). A template is already there, replace the placeholders with your details.
2. Add your privacy policy: Admin area → Rechtliche Seiten (Legal pages) → Datenschutzerklärung (Privacy policy). There is a template here too, which you need to adapt to your chat.
3. Review the terms of use: A default text is in place. Read it and adapt it to your chat rules. New users and guests have to accept it when they sign in.
4. Tell your users about private messages: After the update, private messages are off by default for everyone. Each user turns them on in their profile under „Privatnachrichten“ (Private messages) and decides who may write to them. Admins and chat moderators can still write to everyone.
5. Configure chat commands: Commands are now in German (e.g. /fluestern instead of /whisper). Under Einstellungen → Befehle (Settings → Commands) you choose which commands are active. By default only /hilfe (help) and the moderation commands are enabled.
6. Set up the player (if you run a radio station): Einstellungen → Player (Settings → Player).
7. Customise the design: Choose the accent colour and the background image of the login page under Einstellungen → Design (Settings → Design).

New in the chat

• New design with light and dark mode. Every user can switch at any time, and the choice is remembered.
• All buttons in one bar above the input field: text formatting, smilies, status, settings, admin area and leave, with clear icons.
• User list can be collapsed and expanded and moved to the left or right side at the click of a button.
• Switching rooms happens as soon as you select a room, without an extra confirmation.
• New room selection in the style of the login page, with rooms clearly sorted by category.
• Private messages in a new window with a history of the last 24 hours, even after reloading. A new private message shows a notice in the chat and, if you like, a desktop notification. Private messages are deleted automatically after 24 hours.
• New smilie window with categories and search.
• Radio player right in the chat, either as an embedded player (iframe) or as the LexyCast player with presenter photo, cover art, the current track as scrolling text, listener count, history, request box and schedule.
• VIP and Moderator/DJ user groups with their own icons in the user list. Only DJs, admins and chat moderators may set the „OnAir“ status.
• New status icons: online, busy, away and an animated OnAir icon.
• New profile: profile window with a menu, profile pictures as tiles with upload right in the window. The public profile is now a neat profile card with „Über mich“ (About me) and links to website, Facebook, Instagram and Telegram.
• Colours stay readable: text colours that are too dark or too light are adjusted automatically depending on the mode.
• Sounds work again, and every user turns them on or off in the „Einstellungen“ (Settings) menu.
• Better view on phones and tablets.

New in the admin area

• Completely new admin area without frames, with a sidebar, light and dark mode, and easy to use on a phone as well.
• Dashboard with key figures (users, new users, currently in the chat, rooms, messages in the last 24 hours) and system information.
• LexyChat news right on the dashboard. Click „Gelesen“ (Read) to hide a news item.
• User list with search, filters and sorting. Edit, activate, unlock and delete users right from the list.
• Legal pages (legal notice, privacy policy, terms of use) with a convenient editor and preview. The pages are linked on the login page, in the room selection and in the chat.
• Chat commands can be switched on and off individually, with an explanation of who may use which command.
• Player settings for an iframe player or LexyCast.
• Design settings: accent colour, login page background image, profile pictures and group icons in the user list.
• Sort categories and rooms by drag and drop.
• Smilie categories: create, rename and sort them, and drag smilies into them.
• Upload images directly on the page instead of in a popup, for room images, the avatar gallery and smilies. Larger images are now allowed.

What has changed

• Chat moderator is now a separate level and moderates all rooms. Assigning individual rooms is no longer needed. Existing room moderators have automatically become chat moderators.
• Users register themselves, the admin area no longer has a „create user“ option.
• Email addresses are hidden by default, for existing accounts too.
• Profile fields: gender, age, ICQ, MSN, AIM, YIM, location and occupation are no longer shown. „Interests“ is now called „Über mich“ (About me).
• Chat messages are removed from the room after 10 minutes, logs are kept for 30 days.
• German only: For now the chat runs in German only, and all texts address your users informally.

Security

• A security vulnerability has been fixed that allowed smilies to be deleted without signing in.
• The server now checks every online status and every private message, and manipulation through the browser is rejected.
• All text from editors is filtered before it is displayed.

Enjoy the new LexyChat! If you have any questions or problems, just get in touch with us.