Am i being thick? Is there a chat room here that i can’t see?
Fran
You’re not being thick. There’s a chat room that is comprised of some members of this message board.
But it is not… not affiliated with the SDMB or The Chicago Reader in any way.
It can be found on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) on, IIRC, a Dalnet server. The channel’s name is #straightdope.
(I’m at work and not able to check my bookmarked channels, so if I’m wrong, I know someone will correct me here. Sorry!)
Also, discussions of said chat room, while not entirely unwelcome here, are not encouraged. The chat room is a completely separate entity, and the owners and operators of this message board want to make that distinction clear.
Hope this helps.
Undernet, not Dalnet. Other than that, though, yeah. What he said.
Francesca, if you need help getting to the room, email me and I’ll be happy to help.
Oh yeah. Undernet. Got that on the bookmarks here at home. 
[Guess it’s safe to close this now, mods…]