We had discussed this idea somewhat half-heartedly at one point. I think it is a decent idea, but there is one big problem I see with it. Mostly, the information that is typed is put up and once it is a little off the page (or if you aren't signed on) the information is gone except for the people who read it at the time. One really nice thing about the boards is that threads are available to search through or read through and remain there if you weren't signed in at the time. That's my only beef.
As a person that also spends entirely too much time on the internet, I do see the humor in having one. I am a fairly social kind of guy, so chatting with fellow reefers is a little more up my ally and I think it would probably get us knowing each other a little better. When it comes to needing help from people or just having impromptu gatherings, it helps if you know more about people than you might get from the message board (which would tends to stay a little more "business" related than I think a chat room would). So in as much as it might bring some of the members a bit closer, I think it could be a good thing.
Edit: I've used skype for other organizations in chat rooms that are organization specific (ok... so I'm a gamer nerd and I talk to gamers on it, but there's no reason it can't work for MTRC too). I'm not sure what your client would look like, but that is an option that would be pretty easy to get into gear and would make it really easy for people to get into contact with one another (for people who don't know, in addition to a more public chat room, you can do a private chat, and you can make free phone calls with it to any other skype member). It is also a fairly easy technology to use that you may find useful otherwise (e.g., parents talking to their colleges kids who undoubtedly already know what skype is).
