So what is this thread about? Well, look at the subject :)

I wanted to start a thread where people can provide ideas and wishes for a (semi?) official VGC chat to give people on here the opportunity to communicate with each other via a different channel.

Why a chat? I will give you my opinion on this:

In chats you don't really have a topic, instead of forums. But people want to talk to each other as forums show but the "conditions" of a forum often contradict to what a forum usually is, a place to communicate. Thing is, if you are free to discuss in forums where you have certain threads with a certain topic, just babbling will get a discussion immediately off-topic (not that this still does happen, of course).

A chat on the other hand doesn't really have a topic - its main meaning is that people talk to each other _without_ a certain topic. You are free to join a discussion or start a new one without making threads, you are also free to just read what people think about certain topics but in general as you are not topic-lead you talk to people in a different way and you get the opportunity to get to know people better.

The (a) chat room does not make the forum obsolete in any way - its intention is just to give people the opportunity to get in contact on a different channel in a different way. It is not a substitution for anything existing on the website.

So what do you think about it? Who wants to have a chat

And more specifically: Do you have any ideas?

Tachikoma said she would provide an IRC channel for the userbase but currently only if she gets promoted to a mod.

Conegamer hinted at existing solutions (AIM chat?) but I never heard of them and I am almost 3 years on this forum

We had one, we paid for that one and then it was gone...

To be clear, i'm happy to participate in one, i just didn't want to be the one that established the channel if it was going to be an official one - unless i was a member of staff, just to avoid "power trip" arguments.
The best option would be to start one in a long standing and decent IRC server where usernames can be registered, and channel bots to maintain order can be used, then just throw up a web based irc chat client or use one of the many free ones on the net for people to join in if theyre not familiar with standard irc software based clients

My $0.02 is that a irc channel would make live streams / game releases more fun, and give people the ability to make impromptu online multiplayer groupings without having to post threads and hope someone who has the game and might be playing, will read it.

Yeah we use Skype and AIM currently. Both work pretty well and as you say it's nice to have a more casual place to chat, particularly with big events.

How that would work as one big group? I'm not so sure. Such a thing could not be moderated ofcourse

I'd vote for an IRC channel. Skype chats are too clique-ish for being a real alternative.

OR!..  you could moderate everyone!

I'm all for the idea. Don't see why the feature never returned in the first place.

Chatrooms are for instant talks, with online users, with forums, the messages stay for everyone to read whenever they come online..

The two are very distinct from each other and there's no reason to assume one would make the other obsolete.

This is a fucking awful idea, and I hope it failsworks.

Personally, I think it's one of those features not many people want now, but would appreciate when it actually came. No one seems to be talking much about it, but I know it would be used.

It was a failure during vgchartz heyday, I don't think it would stand a chance today.