I think the forum could use a small, collapsible shoutbox. Just off to the right as a little tab, like the RSS Feed tab. You run your mouse over it and click it to make it stay, then type your words and hit enter. Maybe have a little 'display notification' checkbox in the window to notify you when someone posts in the box, either by a little ding, or a color change in the tab after you minimize it again. Just an idea I had sitting here looking at the Users Online box at the bottom of the page and wishing I could type something. Dunno if its realistic or not XD
It'd be pretty easy to implement (in general, not sure about something like the RSS tab, which would be awesome). My only problem is it discourages people from posting, which we desperately need right now, even if it's just useless posts and not constructive stuff.
Aye, that was the concern when implementing one on Animator X a long time back. Peter (the founder) implemented it anyway, but its hard to say if that contributed to the degradation of the site; because not even the shoutbox is active anymore.