[TalnSG]

I can see why some support a chat box, but I don't.
Yes it promotes discourse because of the immediacy. While spammers can be filtered out, stupid and hurtful things said in the heat of the moment, which you would otherwise had edited, cannot. Several here promoting the chat box would be among those whose tempers would flare and be a problem (possibly even me). There is a benefit to minor delay that gives one time to consider your words first.

Also, in nearly every forum I have been on that added a chat box, the valuable individual thread withered away and the good information that came to light in the chat box was lost to the majority. If it is archived it is agony to search through and the storage capacity needed is a nightmare.

If you want things to be more immediate, ignore those threads that have either duplicate others or are not germain to Japan and are just places for bored people to waste time. Several I have heard complain about them have posted in those same threads. Even if you post to complain there you are contributing to their persistence.

I say improve what we have before we add more modules.