I share the same worry as @gasche about too many synchronous mediums, but I have activated the Chat plugin on this site after having a private word with the moderators. Forked thread here: Chat plugin activated, and adding more site categories
Interestingly, Discourse chat be linked to topics, which may address the synchronous overload by allowing conversations to be packed into forum posts once they “mature”. Message #2 by avsm – #General is a test!