Hi, Jodro - we had a chat function here at Mudcat for a while, but it didn't work all that well. Several of us have found something called ICQ (I Seek You), which seems to be a good service for chats and instant messaging. Click here to take a look. There is no charge, and I haven't found any real problems with it. I haven't seen any increase in junk e-mail that might have been triggered by my use of ICQ.
-Joe Offer-