Answers to the most common questions about CometChat

General

• Is the source code encrypted?
  No, except for a two minified JavaScript files, our source code is 100% unencrypted; so you can make absolutely any changes you need.

• Are future updates free?
  Every purchase of CometChat comes with 1-year free updates. Updates after that can be purchased at 50% of the edition price.

• What are the server requirements?
  CometChat requires PHP 4+ and mySQL/MSSQL. All plugins/modules are designed to work even on shared hosting including audio/video plugin and screensharing plugin.

• Does the script come in any other languages?
  CometChat comes with English only by default. However, language translation is extremely simple and will take only a few minutes.

• Am I allowed to modify the source code?
  Yes, you are free to modify the code as long as it is for your own site. If you are a web developer, you may modify the code to meet the requirements of a project. However, you may not re-distribute the modified files.

• Do you use true Comet technology?
  By default CometChat is set to use smart-polling i.e. CometChat will poll depending on user activity. If you activate our CometService, then CometChat will switch over to true Comet technology. No special hardware/software is required on your server and the true Comet technology will work even on shared servers.

• How many users can CometChat support?
  CometChat is as efficient as any self-hosted solution can be. However the performance depends on your server capabilities. As with any web-based application, you may need to upgrade your server if your site attracts a large amount of traffic. On most shared-server plans, CometChat will work smoothly for hundreds of users. If server load becomes an issue, you can easily add our CometService to your installation and the load will reduce instantly. Our CometService has been tested with over 100,000 simultaneous chatters.

• I have a custom ASP/PHP/Ruby on Rails/Python/etc. site, can I use CometChat?
  Yes, we can integrate CometChat with any site as long as your server supports PHP. If you would like our team to do the integration and installation, please purchase our Premium or Platinum Edition. If you know PHP and would like to integrate CometChat on your own, simply follow the installation guide for standalone sites. No modification is required to your existing site code. Only two lines of JS/CSS include have to be added to your site template.

Sales

• Is the purchase price a one-time fee or annual?
  The purchase of CometChat is a one-time cost. There are no monthly or yearly costs involved. Support and updates are provided free of cost for 1 year.

• How soon will I receive my download information after purchasing?
  You will receive your license information within a few hours of purchase. We perform fraud review check on all purchases to protect us and our customers.

• Can I upgrade to a higher edition at a later stage?
  Yes, you can always upgrade your edition by paying the difference. Say you purchase our Basic Edition and a month later decide to upgrade to Professional Edition; then all you have to pay is $80.

• Is my billing/credit card information kept private when I purchase?
  Absolutely. In fact, we never see or store your billing information on our servers. Your information is processed via 2checkout/PayPal's secure payment gateway.

• What is your refund policy?
  We can only provide refunds in the case that CometChat cannot be properly installed on your server. This means that both you and the CometChat staff are unable to install CometChat properly.

• I want to purchase more than three licenses. Is there a discount?
  Yes. We offer substantial discounts for purchases that include more than three licenses. Please contact us and let us know how many licenses you need.

• Can I hire the CometChat team for some modifications/plugins?
  Yes. Please contact us with details and we will get back to you with a no-obligation fixed-price quote.

Support

• Do I get support with my purchase?
  We provide free support for 1 year in the form of an online ticketing system. Our trained professionals are extremely knowledgeable and strive to provide the highest level of customer service.

• What type of issues does support cover?
  Our support team will assist with general questions related to the script and technical errors encountered during the normal use of CometChat.

• How long does it take to get a response from support?
  Response times vary based on ticket volume but we do our best to respond to all tickets within several hours or the next business day. If there is a large volume of tickets (usually following launch of new version), response may be delayed by 1-2 additional business days. Business days are Monday to Friday.

• If I purchase Premium or Platinum Edition, do you offer an installation of updates?
  Our re-installation service can be purchased separately (for Premium & Platinum Edition customers) if you want to upgrade from one version to another e.g. 1.5 to 2.0 or move your CometChat installation to another domain.

• I purchased the Premium/Platinum Edition. How long does it take for your team to install CometChat on my site?
  Respone times vary based on installation ticket volume but we do our best to perform integration and installation within 1-3 business days.

• Do you offer phone support?
  Our support is only offered through a ticket based system at this time. We've found this method to be the most efficient means to assist customers since it allows issues to be easily tracked and relevant information to be indexed.

Licensing

• Is the license a one-time purchase or a monthly/yearly expense?
  The purchase of a CometChat license is a one-time cost and entitles you to the complete source code for use on one domain. Support and upgrades are provided free of cost for 1 year.

• How many licenses do I need?
  You need one license per live domain. You can use the same CometChat license for your development/staging servers.

• Do I need more than one license if I'm installing CometChat on several subdomains/directories?
  Yes, every installation of CometChat requires a license.

• Do you offer an unlimited/developers license?
  We do not offer any license which entitles you to use CometChat an unlimited number of times. Each installation requires its own license.

• I found a third party selling CometChat licenses. Is that legal?
  CometChat licenses are non-transferable. Our website, is the only legal source of CometChat licenses. By purchasing from third parties, you also risk missing out on the great support and software updates from the CometChat team. If in doubt, please don't hesitate to contact us regarding the legitimacy of a license or to report a reseller.

• Can I change domains after purchase?
  Yes, you can change domain names any time you require as long as only a single live site is running CometChat.

Plugins

• I use a shared server. Can I use audio/video plugin?
  Absolutely. Our audio/video plugin does not require any special hardware/software. We use peer-to-peer technology to establish connection between your users. No server bandwidth is used during audio/video conversations.

• I use a shared server. Can I use screen sharing plugin?
  Definitely. You will have to use either a third-party service to host RED5 and you can use the screensharing plugin without any issues.

• Are there any additional costs involved in using audio/video plugin?
  Our audio/video plugin uses our own servers and is absolutely free. No server bandwidth is used and no additional monthly costs are involved.

• Are there any additional costs involved in using screen sharing plugin?
  Our screen sharing plugin uses RED5 server. You can learn more in our documentation section.

• Do the CometChat plugins have any special server requirements?
  No! All our plugins are designed to work on shared servers. All you need is PHP and mySQL and all plugins will work out-of-the-box. Our screensharing and whiteboard plugin require RED5/FMS server.

• Can I remove the advertisements from the 2-player games?
  Games are hosted on our servers and thus are ad-supported.

• Can I restrict the audio/video plugin to premium customers only?
  Yes, we can modify the CometChat code for you to restrict the plugin to your premium/paid customers.

• How simple is it to activate and deactivate plugins?
  Plugins can be easily activated/deactivated using our backend administration panel.

• Can I add my own custom tray icons/shortcuts?
  Yes, you can easily add your own custom links using our administration panel.

• I want a custom plugin for my site. Can I hire the CometChat team to develop it?
  Yes, you can contact us for a no-obligation quote for custom plugin development.

Editions

• Where is the branding in the Basic Edition?
  The branded version includes a 'Powered by CometChat' link in the options menu (bottom right gear icon). If you purchase Professional Edition or higher, then there is no visible CometChat branding.

• Can I purchase the plugins separately?
  We only offer plugins as part of the edition. Plugins are not offered individually. If you would like to have a plugin, you can simply upgrade to the edition which contains it by paying the difference.

• I am not able to decide which edition would be best for my site. Can you suggest?
  If you want a certain plugin for your site, then you need to purchase an edition which contains that plugin. If you want our team to install CometChat, then you need to purchase Premium Edition or higher. For social networking and dating sites, we suggest the Platinum Edition.

• I want the CometChat team to install CometChat for me. Which edition should I purchase?
  You can purchase our Premium or Platinum Edition and our professional technicians will integrate and install CometChat on your site.

• Can CometService be added in any edition?
  Yes, you can add the Comet Service to any of our editions, straight from your administration panel. No special servers are required.

Extensions

• Are there any additional costs involved in using Facebook/Gtalk extension?
  As this is a hosted solution, it is a free benefit we provide to all active CometChat license holders. As long as you have an active license, no additional costs are involved.

• Can I use Google Adsense to display ads?
  Yes, you can display ads from Google Adsense in user chatboxes using the Advertisements extension.

CometService

• Do I need to purchase CometChat to use the CometService?
  Yes. Our CometService is an add-on for CometChat and will work with any edition of CometChat.

• How does the CometService work?
  You subscribe to our service for as low as $9/month. Then simply activate CometService from your CometChat administration panel.

• How does the CometService reduce server load?
  The CometService moves load from your servers to ours. Instead of using smart-polling mechanism, CometChat will use our servers for sending and receiving messages in real-time.

• What are the advantages of using CometService?
  There are several advantages of CometService including:
  
  1. Drastically reduced server load
  2. Instant delivery of messages
  3. Built to scale
  

• What is your cancellation/refund policy?
  You can cancel CometService any time and you will not be charged for future billing cycles. We do not offer refunds for CometService. To cancel your CometService subscription, simply create a support ticket.

Miscellaneous

• How long is the download available on your site after purchase?
  You can download CometChat from our site upto 1-year after purchase. No access will be provided after one year of purchase of software. Please make sure you keep a backup copy of CometChat on your local PC after purchase.

• If I change my platform at a later stage e.g. vBulletin to IPB, do I need to purchase another license?
  No. Our license allows you to download CometChat for any 3 ready-integrations without purchase of another license.

• I love CometChat. Where can I add my testimonial?
  Write us a testimonial here: http://bit.ly/9cgHKS

• I suspect a site is using a pirated copy of CometChat. Where can I report?
  Use the contact us page to report pirated/nulled copies of CometChat. You do not need to reveal any personal information to report a site.