[akula]

http://www.mobber.com/

karen, wanna try this one?

it could be fun

http://www.gabbly.com/ is also good

[GriZzly]

A chatroom could be fun...and I certainly would participate, but the problem with chat rooms is that they are live and as such cannot be used as reference material in the near future by new members of YE who come looking for advice. One other problem would be that posts in the forum may be reduced as a result of members using only the chat room.

[CP Mr Ofevaw]

I'm gonna plug 3Bubbles.com on this ... They are very easy to setup, and I talk regularly with the founders.

[jgarifuna]

Originally Posted by GriZzly

A chatroom could be fun...and I certainly would participate, but the problem with chat rooms is that they are live and as such cannot be used as reference material in the near future by new members of YE who come looking for advice. One other problem would be that posts in the forum may be reduced as a result of members using only the chat room.

Great point and I used to think the same way until I started using forums more and analyzed how most other users use them. This is what I found in the general case:

- Most users that have a problem and need answers post their question without possibly searching the archives, which is the reason you would see repeated questions many times over by new users. Most forums archives become more useful for search engine searches, but not much for direct visitors. This is not because the archives are bad, but it has more to do with the people that rather post a fresh thread instead of reading over thousands of threads.

Take for instance the following quote from a user on this forum:

i try to read every post on here but one person only has so much time to be on a computer and Im not one of those geeks that play on the comp all day. I have a life and it aint on the computer.

While there are exceptions to the rules, Instant gratification is what drives most people nowadays and I think that a chat would give those interested a chance to have their questions answered faster.

I think that a chat is a complementary medium of communication, just like the phone, news paper, magazines, forums and others and if used appropriately it could benefit the company.

[Sport Skeds]

Originally Posted by jgarifuna

While there are exceptions to the rules, Instant gratification is what drives most people nowadays and I think that a chat would give those interested a chance to have their questions answered faster.

Especially when bundling said 'Chat' - with a rich FAQ/'common questions' archive for newbies. Sure - it takes time to assemble - and maintain (as a 'living document') - but worthy in the long run - and like you said - keeps the instant gratification needs satisifed.