Have you ever thought about having a shout box on the forum?
it's just a small area at the top which is a mini chat room basically is the best way to describe it
i have 1 on my forum and the members love it
they i call it quick chat as it's not there for support or help etc
just so members can say hi to someone or something like
Paul u have a pm etc
just a suggestion for you to ponder about
