Chat plugins, CometCHAT, ArrowCHAT and wibiya etc

Been noticing one or two sites running bottom browser, chat plugins

CometCHAT, ArrowCHAT and wibiya, seem to be some of the main ones you see being used.

Are they just another gimmick or are people finding they help in gaining members and member integration or just a gimmick that serves no purpose.

And if they do help, do they add much to the server load etc

Thanks in advance, confused and bewildered as per nor normal
Lee

IF you are a member on my site you will see cometchat in use. It seems to be bringing the community closer.

I have enabled only for registered users and then set up so you can only chat with your friends.

Tidy looking site to say the least. I could not resist joining, just for a look around

Thanks for the thumbs up. I have a handful of regular members, varying in age from 18 to 80, believe it not

You keep seeing these bars around on all kinds of website, from picture galleries to forums.
I wanted to be sure they are not just this weeks gimmick so to speak and do add something to growth

Definitely an idea to play with now, even if its just for the face book following, something else that I had not considered

Thanks for the thumbs up on that one

Oh yeah, the facebook and twitter additions are great as I have the amount of followers and fans growing daily now. There is also a video/audio chat plugin (it costs extra) but that could be something your community might like with the older members.

What I did was make a thread in the members feedback section, and asked them if they wanted a facebook like chat bar added to the site. I only had the thread open for a short time and the feedback was 13-1 in favor of having it.
I suppose on some sites it can work and other sites it may not. I took into consideration the activity and what members wanted before adding it.
Since having it the feedback has been great and members that didn't have many friends are now looking out for friends to add so they can chat with.