Currently, the length of chat messages is detected fairly simply. Any characters are counted towards the 256 limit, including BBCode and links that are displayed as other text.

For me, trying to link to my submission takes up 81 characters, despite that I usually use the BBCode to significantly shorten the display of it. This actually ENCOURAGES people to post raw links instead of clean-dressed ones, and makes it difficult to make an informative ad, instead of "<raw link> plz diamand fav and subscribe if you like".

Users should not be discouraged from using BBCode links. The message editor should NOT cut off text past 256, instead past 256 it should not let you send the message until it is lower. BBCode should be evaluated after making a BBCode link, and only count the display text, and should re-evaluate the message again when the user tries to post the message (even if above 256) to determine the true message length, and post it if at 256 or below. If above 256, a popup should display that the message was too long and could not be sent, and to shorten it below 256 characters.