I think that there should be a chat section of the site that only loyal members are allowed on and so that you can get an answer in real time. just like a small applet. Just a suggestion. But you probably think that lots of people will go into it so they can mess it up but making it available to loyal members only will probably solve it.
I'm not sure how one would come up with a workable definition of a "loyal" member but you can log onto AD's IRC channel to chat and get help. The channel is moderated so folks who can't play nice don't get to play for very long. Here's a link if you're interested: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/85353
As stupid as it might sound, this is a business issue for us and a decision that has been made years ago and still holds true: -AfterDawn is funded solely by advertisements -each post and thread in forums builds more pages to our site -> more stuff for search engines to find -> more pages to browse -> more page impressions -> more advertisement space available for advertisers -chats can't be moderated in the similar fashion that forums can be, thus they open a possible legal risk for us when at some time of the night there could be a situation where all moderators are absent from the chat and people start posting direct links to pirated material, etc -advertisers hate chats and would never advertise on chat pages I recommend instead using our enthustiastic members' IRC channel that you see "advertised" all over the forums. It is not supported by aD staff and aD as a company, but is based purely on users' commitment and willingness to help others.
