As a long-time moderator here, I would like to chime in here, even though this is now a days-old conversation.
Now perhaps someone will use the Chat Room....I went there a few times and there was never anyone there. In other forums I have been on, when you go to the Chat Room a mod greets you. So, I just figured no one used this one. I am sure a lot of folks will be very glad not to have the threads cluttered up with personal things. KEITH
As for the chat room, it's never been a big hit here. Early on there was attempts to schedule chat events but we never did get a good response, and not many bothered to make the event. So it's there for members to use, if they want to.
As for the chat room, who knows, maybe it would work, but most folks don't have time to make time to sit down and post things that are already written out on the threads....so, don't imagine it would work very well......too bad....should be some way.
Regarding the Chat Room - as Kevin mentioned, it hasn't gotten very much use, despite periodic attempts to arrange an organized chat encouraging folks to join in at a specified time (around New Years a few years in a row, for example). We maybe ever had 10 members joining in the chat at any one time.
However, if you notice some of your friends are online when you are, send them a quick PM and invite them to join you in the Chat Room. If I remember correctly, it opens in a separate windor or tab. You can go back and forth between the chat room and the message board and see if other people are online, and invite them to join your existing chat. For whatever reason, folks don't always respond (maybe they didn't see your PM, maybe they signed off as you were sending it, etc.) It is true that the Chat Room is not moderated, but we all have many things that take up our time - work, family, hobbies, etc), so it is not practical to man the Chat Room 24/7. BUT it is there for anyone to use, any time, and can be a fun way to get to know other members.
Btw, there are numerous threads for off topic bantering, where the subject is whatever the poster wants it to be. Of course you can create a thread if an existing thread doesn't exist.
It's nice to hear about what people have going on in their lives etc so why don't we just create a general chat thread in off topic or use an existing one? Don't see why we can't all have the best of both worlds without anyone falling out.
Interestingly , we did have such a thread that ran for some time.
The Real Senior Members Thread.
We used it as a general silly nonsense thread
with light hearted banter between boy and girl members.
There is no reason this thread can't be
used for the general chit chat of day to day life.
Not only are there off-topic threads, there is a WHOLE sub-forum for topics not related to John Wayne, Off Topic Discussions. For those who are politically-minded, a specific thread, Politics, was formed (with the caveat that folks please restrict political stuff to that thread, so people who are not interested in politics can easily avoid it). Beware, it can get pretty heated there! As Keith (aka ethanedwards) mentioned, there is the "Senior Members" thread, which is silly but fun! Off Topic Discussions offers up MANY places to simply chat about the weather, tell jokes, wish others a happy birthday, etc. I have been to other forums where none of these things are allowed, we actually have a fairly mellow outlook compared to some, despite your perception.
Although there are a great many people on here who DO enjoy the more relaxed posting and some can't wait to see what has happened while at work, etc., there are others, I am sure that are not happy with it.
I imagine there are diehard fans who don't like to communicate with others except as pertains to Duke, etc. This site is perfect for them if conducted by your mods as in the rules.
Keith, there IS a John Wayne forum where it is exactly like that, and it's not this one. ANY off-topic discussion is not tolerated - in fact, zero tolerance. Several of our members have banned from that forum (including my wife, if you can imagine that); I doubt you'd make it 24 hours there (no disrespect intended there, just sayin' . . . 
). Anyone who is interested in that forum may contact me via PM and I will gladly share the information. Others know what I'm talking about.
Here at the JWMB, we understand there is more to life than John Wayne (as much as we all love him!!), but staying on topic is not a bad thing, either. I know I have had to go through several pages of a topic, scrolling through stuff that wasn't related at all, to get to the 'meat' of the topic. I appreciate it when folks stay to the topic at hand (but also understand how we can get carried away on a tangent - hey, I've done it myself!)
Any reason you can figure that I have never been able to make Multi Quote work.........it turns red and all, but....never can get the entire post up there?
Sue says she will post some instruction regarding that in the Newbie forum later today.
. . . this place is bigger than one man or one lady, it's a big community.
While I appreciate the concerns for the community, the topic is the posting and you, and what we as a mod team here try to maintain. A focused discussion, and to maintain this we have guidelines that members here should follow. The big picture is focus and this makes for an over all better experience for the average user. Having to scroll thru countless chat about everything except what the visitor is interested in is not the experience we drive for. Do we always perform our duties perfectly?, no we fail and are not as constant as I'd like) but we try. This isn't a business, it's a hobby, for me and the other moderators here. I enjoy maintaining this community since 1999 when I first hosted a John Wayne website and forum, and Lord willing this place will be here for many years to come.
Well said, Kevin! Thank you for continuing to provide this amazing forum for John Wayne fans, where we may have our differences, but we eventually get over them (because we don't get banned at the first sign of trouble). Thank you for allowing me so many years ago the privilege of assisting you as a moderator here. I value the many friendships gained as a result, and can't even measure the knowledge I have amassed since being a member here!
Stepping down off soapbox,
Chester 
you!
