Is there a way to set up a group chat for a live YouTube event? I don’t want to use the chat where 100s of people are in YT. I want to create my own, separate chat group where I simply give my friends a link and they join at their pleasure once the event starts. Thanks!
define group chat? youtube has a chat function builtin to live streams.
Well, as I wrote, I don’t want to be in a public YT group chat with 100s of other people. I just want to chat about a specific live video with friend of mine who want to join. I want to send out a link and the can simply join the text chat.
only one person? just skype them and screenshare
Sorry, I should have written “friends” (many, not one). I want to leave a message on Facebook and say “Hey friends, so and so is having a live event. Let’s chat at 3pm. Click this link at that time and join our private group chat!” Something like this.
DIY if you have your own cloud server and some experience.
All communication happens in chat-rooms.
Each room has a unique URL.
Anyone who has room-URL can join the room. Generating random long enough room-URL gives privacy to > participants. Be sure to share room-URL with wanted participants only.
Rooms are automatically created when the first participant joins the room, and are automatically deleted when the last participant leaves the room.
Chat-history is available for newly joined participants. History is rounded when the number of messages in the room exceeds the maxRoomHistoryMessages config parameter. History is deleted and no-longer-available once the room is deleted.
Surely, if you make the YouTube stream private or unlisted, uninvited users will not be able to get in and the chatroom will be just those people that are invited?
It’s not my stream. It’s a public stream from others, eg State of the Union, Arizona Task Force update, etc.
Maybe I am complicating this by adding in the YT element. Is there a way to create a chat group with a private link? I want anyone who has the link to be able to join. Not necessarily add individuals.
Ah, okay. Then maybe the quick and dirty way is to use Zoom. One person shares the stream (the option to optimise the shared screen for video works very well). If you don’t want to do video or voice chat then just turn off your camera and mic.
Hmmm… okay let me see.
For your own stream, sure. If you want to use someone else’s stream, then you need a way of restreaming the stream privately. It’s doable, but might need something like OBS or XSplit. The Zoom option would be the simplest.
Well, they can watch the stream on their own. I just want to have a separate private chat group accessible via a private link.
discord, a skype group chat. Skype would still be good you could share your screen so that you and your friends are relatively synced.
I want a private link. I don’t want to add people individually.
I understand… I am still thinking Zoom. I have been doing similar on Sundays with a group of friends to watch our online church service together. I’ve been sharing my screen in Zoom so everyone is in sync. There’s the chatroom there for use if that’s all you want. All you need to do is send out the Zoom meeting link.
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Thanks. I’ll take a look. I guess my question really should have simply asked if there is a chat program I can use whereby I send out a private link and people with the link can access it.
And not only for streaming, but let’s say a TV show that starts at 8pm.
If you all have access to the stream you want to watch individually and do not need to share it to keep everyone together, then Discord, as suggested, but might need a sign in for each user. Or any other live chat service like Skype or Hangouts.
Or… temporarily spin up an IRC server on a cloud hosted server? 
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I think Hangouts might be good but I haven’t used that for a long time. I think I can send out a hangout link and people can join via a browser, right?
Don’t know about that. I haven’t used it in that way and haven’t used Hangouts for ages.