Private Message System

FWIW, I've often thought it would be good to have a chat system, like Yammer's or Facebook's, as a place for the more ephemeral, less formal stuff that doesn't need to take a whole group's time, and doesn't need to be recorded. I've thought of it as analogous to the conversation that happens before and after real-life meetings, important for group cohesion, but not minuted.

Exactly what I am thinking. Already there have been a number of times while I have been participating in this Loomio community that I could have used it. Often it is informal conversations which help decisions get made collaboratively.

I agree chat would be great. Putting that aside for a second, if we're thinking about a private message system, I'd really like it to be tied directly to my email. I.e. if you send me a direct message, I want it in my email inbox, not in some Loomio Message Inbox. The proliferation of messaging systems across different platforms is really counterproductive I reckon.

Also this would mean you could get in touch with someone without needing to know their email address.

That is how I would personally like it as well.

However I think having both options works well. Given I might be meeting in Loomio for a few hours it can be nice to have something pop up in the notification bar which indicates that I have a message to read. I might get annoyed if I had to go to my email :-)

I think that using the existing discussion format.. but just selecting individuals who can see it (rather than a group) would be the best solution.

+1 for the insta-loomio option of starting a discussion and just looping in the people I want to talk with.

An excellent solution! Good thinking @robertguthrie

I love the idea of private messaging because i rarely use email anymore...too slow and full of crap..

instant messaging (w notification) is the next logical step and then the evolution to instant chat and then push talk voice... as Loomio advances