Isn’t that the reason why we have an off-topic section of the forum? 
Yeah, that’s a good point, but even the off-topic section has threads where you have to keep to that topic, not just chatting about this and that…
I’ve been a member of many forums that also have a chatroom and it doesn’t distract from the boards at all. It’s just another avenue for getting to know the members better.
A prime example of this is KongIsKing.net or TheOneRing.net. Both have forums and a chatroom each. They used to have synchronised screenings of the films and chat about it at the same time, or have cast members the director come in for a chat (albeit in those times only a few designated members would be allowed to speak and all questions must be addressed through them to avoid clutter and nonsense)
So they do have their advantages.
and a chatroom can be super off topic!
I’ve warmed to the idea of a chat room… you guys have raised some good points. I think we will just have to try it out and see. I’d even get in there and chat about random stuff with you guys. I’m liking the idea of having a scheduled Pixar movie screening, and commenting on the film in real time. Geez, we should look at other fan forums more often to steal their ideas. Heheh.
It would also be awesome if we could organise to have a live chat with a Pixarian, with the questions screened, though. But I think an event like that would be better suited to a thread so we can preserve the chat for eternity.
I like the idea of chatting durring a scheuled movie screening rachel. Kinda like a commentary. But won’t it be faster to do audio commentary though? Still, it is a clever idea.
TSS - It wasn’t my idea, but I’ll be happy to take credit for it. 
And there’s no reason why we can’t do both an audio commentary and chat session - Pixar fandom knows no bounds!
I’m with Skyotic, WALL·E, bawpcwpn, and Rachel. Why? Mainly because all ideas should be given a chance before prejudice takes over. 
Other reasons?
bows Oh, fair Queen of Pixar Planeteers, please allow me to make a suggestion. bows It would please the people of your fine forum if better and faster communication among staff members were in practice. bows That is all. bow bow bow
No offense, but isn’t that like being against China because they are stronger than the United States? And live suggestions, comments, and questions wouldn’t be bad, but it’d take much, much longer than chatting about the regular stuff that we discuss on the forums.
Not everyone has to use it. If being fair was the method taken, everyone’s ideas would be given a chance.
No, it would not be like any China/US conflicts!! 
Live suggestion are, good of course, but the chat room isn’t being suggested for that, it’s being suggested for random chat, which would be defeating the purpose of Pixar Planet and the forums themselves. if you want to “randomly chat” I can reccomend many sites where that is the focus. I actually suggested that the chat (if there was one) would be good for live suggestions to Radio Pixar, so we’re on the same page there. And even if the chat was about Pixar itself, it would get crowded, no one would be able to elaborate, and it may become elitist (everyone would ignore the newbies). Also why have a forum if we have a chat, this site was founded around a forum, and it’s great because we CAN chat about Pixar, but we have time to edit things, and make sure we get our message across in an intelligent and non-ofensive way. It’s just my thoughts, but I hope you guys take this into consideration.
Yeah, I agree that we should be focusing more on Pixar discussion, rather than off-topic discussion but you can’t really force people to do that if that’s not what they want to do… Saying that, I am still for a chatroom on Pixar Planet, but only under the provision that we have a trial period with it to see how it goes. There would the question of who would be in charge of moderating discussion in the chat room, too. But I’d still like to see it given a chance.
How would a live chat/suggestion chat room with Radio Pixar work? Isn’t Radio Pixar pre-recorded? Maybe if there was a specific time with which every premiere episode was streamed live, and we could comment on it in real time… I like that idea, I’m just curious to how it would work.
No, the Radio Pixar personalities set up a time, while they are recording, the chatroom would be active and we could send in live suggestions and comments on what they are talking about at the moment (they would type in the topic letting us know).
I agree you can’t force people into talking about Pixar, that’s why there’s the Off-Topic section, but why join Pixar Planet, if all you want to do is random chat, there are already sites for that.
I think your kind of missing the point Martin.
An online chat is there, like the boards, 24/7. Now granted there is only so much one can talk about Pixar before they start repeating themselves. An online chat allows for quick back and forth discussion of Pixar topics between members when something happens. The board is great for expanding upon ideas and giving an opinion which is more permanent.
As I have said previously, there are movie sites like KiKn and TORn that both have IRC chat as well as forums and it doesn’t detract from the forum discussion at all. It’s a great way to get to know the other members better. It’s discouraged on the forum to go off topic, but in an online chat, you can go off topic, briefly, and always come back to the topic at hand. You also get people who aren’t members of the boards popping in for discussion and those who are in need of an opinion quickly or answers.
If something happened in the Pixar world, someone could quickly jump on IRC and chat about it with others before going to the boards. Because unlike the boards, its more live. It also allows for live updates if someone is at an event and has IRC capabilities on a laptop or a phone eg. Comic-Con, premiere.
Just my 2¢
Martin - I’m not a member of Radio Pixar, but I don’t think they record the program live. I also think a lot of what they say is scripted (nothing wrong with that, though) and they already know what’s going to be said. Not to mention the show probably needs to be edited (mistakes edited out, music put in, other segments that other people have made put into the show etc) before it is fit for our ears. I don’t think it’s like a traditional radio show where it’s all put out there live. Maybe someone from the actual crew could clear this up, though. I do like the idea of commenting on the show in real time - like I said before, the premiere episode of the show could be streamed live, and we could all listen to it together, then after that it would be available to download so we can listen to it as we wish, but the live commenting would be useless by then and the forum feedback would come into effect.
But if you are talking about us giving feedback on what they are saying before the show is edited to the final product, giving them a chance to change the show before it’s put out, then I can understand that idea and it does make sense, but I don’t think that’ll happen…
I agree that people should focus more on Pixar here, probably me included. Would it be a good idea to give yet another outlet for non-Pixar discussion…? But if people are coming here to chat about non-Pixar stuff, then there’s nothing much we can do about it (and believe me, I’ve seen 'em) unless the staff wanted to implement a policy where a member must have made a certain number of posts in the Pixar section before they can post in the off-topic section, but that’ll be for them to decide.
Rachel- I’m not sure you get what I mean. A few day before the person starts recording, they post a topic with the time and date they’ll record and to be on the chat room at that time. Then the day comes and he/she records (keep in mind we don’t hear it), the person will have a chat window open while recording and if he/she needs feedback or opinions on the topic he/she will type it in the chat while recording, and us members give instant feedback.
For example:
RP Host (in chat): What do you think about the new Pixar comics?
Member 1: They look cool.
Member 2: Yeah!
RP Host (recording): Sounds like the Pixar fan community is pumped about the new Pixar comics from Boom coming next year!
This type of chat would let us discuss and participate on certain days without making the boards unnecessary, also it’s another great reason to get Pixar fans to join.
As for a random chat, isn’t Off-Topic enough, and won’t it be hard to control. Whatever, I give up on convincing you guys about what’s wrong with it. 
Set up a steam chat room! Then you can have audio chat and let them emebers TALK to each other!
Martin - But they could just get our opinion on topics by looking through the threads… If they had a chat box that anyone could type into, with a specific question up the top, as a way to get feedback from RP listeners without them having to sign up, then yeah, that’s a good idea.
And it’s not about trying to convince other people, it’s about giving the pros and cons and various other issues to do with the idea. Personally, I think we should give it a shot before coming to any conclusions.
So no chat for RP, yet you want a room for random chit-chat?
You kinda just proved my point with the above sentence, we could just use the boards!
Anyways, could we just agree to disagree, these posts are going nowhere and I just want to make sure this is just a friendly discussion and that it ends that way.
P.S. It would be cool to see a chat just for special events (Comic-Con, SIGGRAPH, Movie Premieres), but full time… meh.
Martin - If Radio Pixar wanted short, to-the-point opinions on something they are talking about then yes, they could do that. But if they wanted to bring up on air more detailed opinions, they would go to the forums. And It’s because I can see both sides of the issue and haven’t yet made up my mind whether to have an off-topic chat room or, not. My main point is that we should just try it out and see. It’s not like it doesn’t have any benefit whatsoever - it would let us members connect with each other more, even though in my personal opinion we really should be focusing on Pixar, but people who don’t want to wouldn’t talk about Pixar anyway, if that isn’t what they are here for.
But I also said after that sentence that a chat room that was there for non-members of this forum who listen to the show, to give their opinion on the show without having to sign up, then I like that idea. I’m sorry, I’m still not 100% sure what you mean about giving out opinion on the show while they are recording…
But, yeah, let’s just agree to disagree, then. No hard feelings.
The thing is, we could give it a go. And if it doesn’t go to plan, then oh well- at least we’ve tried, and by then, we’d know that the negatives outweigh the benefits. And if the benefits outweigh the negatives, then we keep it. Or we could change it to suit our needs, only using it at certain times, that sort of thing.
as I said, It you set up a steam chat group you can have voice chat, so we as members could get to know each other better.