1. Yes. That would be so nice. I wouldn't need to do multiple tabs to do chat and forum browsing simultaneously.
2. I don't really notice it too often.
3. I'd imagine a list of users would fix that, which I think she mentioned becoming one of the two buttons underneath send.
4. I still haven't tested it on my tablet yet. If it doesn't work on phones I'd imagine similar difficulty on a tablet.
Beyond this, I understand it's beta, and that you're (Luna) busy. The open/close without a users list however is what gives the ghost town effect. If that alone were addressed it'd be a ton better (when you have the time, of course).