The hosting package that you are using at the moment has limited space. As with most things in life, if you want more
"it's gonna cost my boy"
Hosting a chat-room on your server package ;
The package you have at the moment is just about right for the space required. Enough room for all the archives you intend to make available, photos etc., however it was not envisaged that you would host a chat room in the immediate future. This feature would indeed take up much more space, initially for the script that provides the facility, and would also involve more bandwidth traffic allowances than you currently have. For your information, the package to do this would be four times what the CPL pay at present, plus set up and admin costs. There are advantages to this scenario though. You would have space and resources to host the FORUM on the server and not rely on the free service used now with it's limitations. Additionally there would be space for active databases and their scripts, for example to automatically update league tables, contact info etc., but that too would incur set up costs and require admin and moderation. Ultimately it does in fact require someone to do all these things, including the updates on the website, which trust me is definitely a part time job rather than a hobby or pastime - all of which, in my honest opinion, collectively rules out anybody doing the job on a voluntary basis
The phpbb forum that we run just now is a free resource, and you can find out more about it if you go to
http://www.freeforums.org/advanced.php
I believe that you could all form some type of chat room if you submitted your MSN or AOL details in your profiles. There are various upgrades that you can have, including chat rooms and more hosting space and bandwidth but of course the same issues apply in respect of costs and administration.
That said, I agree that some form of chat room would be more suitable for many of you on the forum who use it for that very purpose. When I set it up I envisaged it primarily as a place to exchange information and a means of keeping up to date with a little bit of gossip and opinions thrown in.....
