Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
One thing you can do is open two windows, one ¾ wide with the forum to scroll and view, the second beside it ¼ wide with the chat box open and you can see who is in and out of chat as it happens; just switch windows if you want to chat with someone!