Personally, I am indifferent to the chat box. I'd rather have it as a private chat box rather than the public avatar it is in right now. As lester put it, a PM box that works in instantaneous mode between 2 parties. That can keep out the clutter from the chat. An argument against it is what are IM programs for then? Well, sometimes the person you want to chat with is not an IM friend of yours.

From the poll results, I definitely feel the opinion is out there. People seem to love/hate it almost equally. Taking it private will eliminate the possibility of abusing the facility and also abusing the good sense of others via vile comments.

So, if given the option, I'd suggest, let it stay, but in a private avatar.

Cheers