Add a Chat to the site?

[PowerDaniels]

Anyone ever consider implementing an Ajax chat or something similar to the site? I believe the framework for the forum supports it.

[Scooternj]

What Nat said. I'm on another forum that uses a different forum software and a third party java client for the chatrooms (for text-based role playing). They don't like talking to each other when updates are done to each other, and usually require sweet talking or resetting the server to get them to work. The chat logs are retrievable, but but usually to one or two administrators.

For us, it'd be more headache than help.

[jazty]

Yep, I'll throw in a down-vote for live chat. The forum already has private messaging for the truly private conversations and otherwise it's nice to have the dialog between members recorded for future reference and in an easily searchable format.

And another note: even if the chat data was recorded and was easily searched, chat dialog is usually AWFUL. Sentence fragments, posts based on immediate emotion, no proof reading, LOLZ and excessive use of emoticons.. What I'm saying is that it's usually painful to read through

EDIT:
I want to add that I'm no Luddite. I just hate to see poorly integrated addons being tossed at websites. They rarely benefit the system as a whole (as in the majority of users; current and future). In this case I'd say clean, accessible data trumps fast 1-on-1 conversation.

[PowerDaniels]

I definitely see the downside of if people were discussing their builds or sharing information that way, but that was not my intention of why I meant it would be nice to see a chat.

Chat logs would be difficult to search and it's not a practical way to share information or advice on builds, but the reason I suggested a chat was more so as a more social means of interacting, to see who's around and say hello. Kind of creating a camaraderie for people to talk about their day to day lives or share little tidbits of information among friends.

If it would turn out to be noobs, like myself, only entering the chat to ask specifics about build suggestions, it would have more of a negative impact than if those things were to be posted on the forum, unfortunately.