[p2pu-dev] Real-time chat to encourage participant interaction

[Brylie Oxley]

I think that it would be helpful to move the chat page so that it is 
more prominent. E.g. there could be a course live chat above the 
activity stream or replacing the Gravatar images on each course page. 
This would liven up popular courses and participants could carry on 
conversations, ask for assistance, offer a hand, schedule meetings, and 
make friends, all while going about their tasks in the relevant course. 
This may also help to tip the balance between the asynchronous and 
synchronous aspects of the community.

Etherpad is a great example of combining real-time chat with 
asynchronous capabilities of editing collaborative content.

I am not proposing that the chat area take up too large a portion of the 
page, just that it be present and clearly visible.