I like the popup that has been coming every so often on the side of the screen from the subeta team asking for suggestions and ideas. I think that being able to use that same idea to message other users would be really cool. You wouldn't have to leave the screen you're on and you be able to see a new message instantly.

I could see this being useful but also kind of annoying especially if it it pinged you every single time there was a response or it notified users every single time you were on. If it was added as a conventional chat type feature a la, Skype or facebook messenger then I'd like an option to be able to turn it off or have something similar to a invisible feature so that users weren't pinged every single time there was a message alert.

I don't know, comments work great for me. the instant messaging thing we have now I'm pretty sure will be a tool used for support, because it does send replies to your email too. it would need to be changed if it was used just for chatting, and I am pretty sure this tool is outside technology brought in to replace tickets. I don't see it being used for a user-user chat system.

I'd prefer an overhaul of the mail system (something that was being worked on some time ago, but has been downgraded to # soon territory, as other things became more urgent) to an IM system.

I really like the IM for staff interaction, but for user-to-user, I think mail would be more functional overall.

Eh, I'm fine with comments and sMail, but then again I don't do all that much talking.

I would like to keep this system separate from the sMail system if it is going to be used for user-user interaction and not just staff-user interaction. I send codes for profile commissions via smail, and while I could do this via comments, this ensures that only the commissioner is able to access get and use the code. It sounds like it would be a nightmare to send codes via an IM system. x:

I prefer comments for user-user interaction - the popup chat thing is ok for staff-user stuff like I had this morning (although it'd be better if we could get back to the IM popup thingy once we've closed it!), but I definitely wouldn't want that to be a user-user system.

Definitely don't get rid of sMail and replace it with those IMs! sMail to me is for those messages where you want to send something that either needs longer to reply (like profile coding / profile mockups), or things that might be sensitive for the recipient which you might feel you can read / reply to immediately.

I really dislike any form of "hey look you've got a message and you need to reply immediately" kind of instant messaging (I even have chat disabled on facebook) - comments are fine, as I can choose when to look at the page, but I really wouldn't want user-user interaction to popup like that on every single page I look at, until I reply!

tl;dr No support. I don't want to see user-user interaction on whatever page I'm looking at - the alerts for profile comments are fine, and I can choose when to spend time replying.

I'd also much prefer a sMail overhaul over an instant messaging feature.

No support. I have the system shut down through CSS since I hate that kind of thing in general. I don't want people to be able to bug me with pop ups at a whim.

No support. Chat on the forums - get dem forum points! Use comments or add your friends to fb or skype BECAUSE the smail system needs a massive overhaul before we get any user-user IM :$ imo