I voted yes even though the last chat room we had was a complete failure. ( It was never used ) I think it was hidden away too well, and when you did visit, there was no one to chat to. ( Solutions below )
There are many times that I see a user online that I would like to have a real time discussion with, but can only send them a PM. Often they dont see the PM until the next time they are online, and its too late.
In order for chat to work this time, I suggest the following features.
- When ever a user enters the forum they are automatically logged into the chat room.
- On each page of the zone, including threads, the chat room appears at the very end of the page. This will allow the user to continue surfing the zone without having to swap windows to chat. Also it will show others the current chatting that is happening.
- An alert/invitation button should be in the chat room. Example, I see a user online who I wish to talk to, I go to the chat room at the end of the page and find his name, I click his name and it displays an alert on the page he is viewing. The alert tells him to look at the chat room at the end of the page.
- Private chat feature. I want to have a real time private chat with a user. I go to the chat room and select the users name and send a private chat request. He accepts the private chat request and the chatting is done in a private room.
I have seen all these features in other chat rooms, so I know it can be done. I feel sure it can also be inserted in the current forum as a frame or inline frame or just in a table. If it was done in a frame it would mean only the chat part of the page would need to be updated, and not the whole page. Unlike if it was done in a table. All chat rooms update every few seconds so as to display the changing text.