Geez, MacAllister, you're turning a funny shade of purple there. Can I get you a drink of water? Or maybe some oxygen?
Jason, I appreciate your suggestions about different places to establish a chatroom, but I don't think it is likely that we're going to physically relocate the chatroom at this point in time. It's established and people are starting to become comfortable with it. Also, we've had so many technical changes recently, I think we (the mods anyway) all need some time to let the cyberdust settle. The current chat is not as difficult as it might appear on the surface once you're in there. Heck, even Frank can manage it.
If I'm misunderstanding you and you're suggesting different tools to use to access the existing chatroom, I know there are lots of different options out there. I couldn't necessarily tell you what they all are, but I know they exist. I use mIRC, Charlie (ChunkyC) uses Trilliam, and a fair number of individuals just use the link at the top of the board.
I have e-mailed Jenna about being our inaugural guest, probably some time after the first of the year. I'll let everyone know what she says.
I, too, would like to start off with some of the respected individuals on the board. I have ulterior motives for this, though. I figure there will be a few kinks in the system -- in the manner in which questions are fielded, etc. -- and assume individuals like Uncle Jim and Jenna would be more understanding and in a better position to provide feedback on what worked and didn't work from the perspective of the guest-speaker. Ultimately, though, I would like to contact some off-board personalities as well as our respected board regulars and see if they would be interested in speaking to us through the chat interface.