What I did was, if I saw someone online, I'd PM them & ask if they wanted to do some "live posting." Though the IRC sessions don't get recorded {like regular thread posts do}, I've enjoyed "real time" talks. They've been good for clarifying something that may have been posted and are, otherwise, a cool way to get to know others.
Someone suggested that we could set up a particular time to meet in IRC. Of course, people get busy and may not have time to meet "regularly" or may not even have spare time to chat to begin with....
Anyway, I'm just throwing this out there for something to think about.
Sidebar: I haven't been to church or any "in person" Bible studies for about 3 months {leaving aside any reasons/excuses for this}. I plan on meeting with some Christian friends "in person" tomorrow and we always have several hours of great fellowship and Bible study; we used to meet about once a week when they were my neighbors {was this an "apartment church" ?

So what do you think about having some IRC chats/meetings?
Thanks,
