Should we have regular "town hall" chat sessions and/or encourage folks to hang out in chat?

One of the things that I like about SFF.SE (Science Fiction and Fantasy) is that many of the more active members and mods regularly hang out in chat. This provides at least three benefits:

1. Chat is a place where people can discuss related topics that would otherwise be off-topic.

2. Chat is a place to hold long-running discussions related to a specific topic, rather than a huge comment thread attached to either a question or an answer.

3. Hanging out with other members of the site can create a sense of community, encouraging polite and friendly behavior.

I plan on hanging out in chat on a regular basis, but perhaps it might be helpful to get things started by scheduling some town hall or meet and greet events.

Donald.McLean

• discussion

Comments

• Robert Cartaino: Short answer: yes, excellent idea. It might be tough before you're open to the public, but excellent suggestion!
• John Lovejoy: How would this cope with people from different time zones?
• Donald.McLean: Some of us will just have to forego sleep. Or perhaps we could rotate the times to give everyone a chance.
• Michael Kjörling: Rotating the time (say, shifting it by 6 hours each week) sounds like a good idea to me. One week it's 06:00 UTC, the next it's 12:00 UTC, then 18:00 and 24:00 UTC. Then everybody has a reasonable chance most of the time, and a good opportunity at least once every few weeks (ignoring other personal commitments).
• Paul Wheatley: Great suggestion! Count me in!
• Donald.McLean: Perhaps twice a week, at different times? My preferences run to weekdays as I'm usually at work and online those days.