It has potential, but not much more potential than if someone emailed a transcript at the end of the meeting. If you are interested in the meeting, but can't be there because you are not on-site, video is still far better. No transcript can possibly show the chair's facial expression as a question is asked and answered. Nuances are important in understanding how and why decisions are made. If you are interested but can't be there because of a conflict, then you *could* watch the chat in real time but then you are not participating fully in either meeting. The main benefit here imho is to know when a particular subject is going to be discussed. For that you might just get someone to send a msg to your mobile. Transcripts are better because they can be edited for clarity during low points in the discussion. Personally I admired the effort that went into making the chat work, but got nothing out of it except to know when particular topics were being discussed -- after the discussion had already started. On the other hand, I'm all in favor of tools for realtime discussion in between physical meetings. I think it would be great to have per-WG IETF virtual hangouts with shared whiteboards and more. ..Scott