As things are now on HF, a member's response is normally done as a permanent record, therefore (hopefully) causing members to give a little more thought before posting.
Of course there is the opportunity to edit your posts w/ in a limited time (3 days I believe), but still, the goal is to leave a recorded conversation between members, and hopefully it will be thoughtful & helpful.
My impression w/ "chatting" is that thoughts will more often be thrown out w/ less thought, especially since we are behind keyboards & not face to face:)
Therefore, I would think it would lend it's self to more misunderstanding & friction.
At the present, there is still the option to PM several members at once & respond only to the sender or "reply to all".