Hi guys,
Indeed, it has been reviewed before. And Vstep came to the conclusion that it would not work out. We could look over it again in light of the coming new SSE forum, but I think we'll reach the same result though. Based on what is already visible in the MP chatlogs, and what was seen on other fora, it's clear that it would be a nightmare to moderate it, even if it has become technically possible by now.
But... That's why we have a small talk board, and topics like the cookie box, as a replacement. And some folks have also gone out of their way to create shipsim channels on IRC and such, but they were hardly used, when push came to shove.
In the end, spamming topics, is not down to the lack of a shoutbox, but to the people that conciously decide to post irrelevant content into otherwise meaningful topics. And mostly it's done by people who should.. and do, know better.
And if these kind of posters would stop doing that, even if it isn't meant to do harm but innocent banter, but instead use a topic that is meant for it, or make a new topic in small talk to have a casual chat, and not disturb a decent topic, then there wouldn't really be a problem.
Hope that clears it up a bit, again.
Regards,
Fred