Let me go out on a limb- did most of the off topic chat come from non paying members?
We are about to go down a path once traveled before. Although most non paying members are intelligent and courteous, a handful are not and ruin the chat box for others.
I base my (usually non paying) members statement on the fact that most of the non subject related chat is due to, the non paying members.
If the chess.com staff were to filter the chat dialog for the chesstv broadcast for non broadcast related chat, they could then separate that data into paying and non paying members by percentage and let us know if there is any scientific fact to back up my opinion.
I think there should NOT be a chat box open to the public website without a filter through the staff. We (all members) should still be able to type in questions or comments to the presenter, but without a public window that flashes all of them. If questions related to the subject are to be discussed by the presenter they can be addressed during the broadcast after the staff filters them. Then we do not have to see the other posts which have nothing to do with the subject matter.
The chess TV idea is interesting; I saw the broadcast on Aug 24. However, the chat window is unadulterated BS -- filled with the usual anonymous morons who want to ruin the site for everyone else. I suggest the next broadcast be monitored and instantly block anyone who behaves stupidly, goes off topic or throws a tantrum.
I'm sureI'll get flamed by the usual crowd in this post too.