Having given InCircles a test drive here and on other sites where people are using it, I'm starting to get a feel for what I like -- and for what I'd like to see added. Since it's currently in Alpha, I suppose now is the time to speak up, for whatever my opinion happens to be worth. (Don't answer that! )

Likes:

• The concept and functionality in general.
  It is very cool to be able to chat in real time with people who are viewing the same page as you. As I mentioned earlier, I would love to see LibraryThing.com add this so that users could chat with others in real time about the books they are interested in. I think it would be a good addition to online shopping sites as well: Customers can discuss what they know about a particular product, and the merchant can participate in this discussion, taking advantage of the feedback and providing assistance as necessary. I also see good potential for its use in distance education -- a way to connect students who are otherwise disconnected and get them talking about the content they are currently viewing. This could come in especially handy for the Assistive Technology course I teach each summer! I'm sure the more I think about it the more uses I will see for products such as InCircles.
• The fact that messages don't get stored on the page.
  Traditional chatboxes seem far too inviting to spammers (I cannot believe we now have chatbox spam....) and to the sorts of people who find it amusing to leave inappropriate messages.
• The ability to send personal messages in addition to public ones.
• It looks slick.
  Okay, perhaps that shouldn't matter but -- let's face it -- it does.

Wish List:

• Associate user names with IP addresses.
  If I am simultaneously viewing multiple pages that use InCircles, I can only be "Joanie" on one of those pages -- say my blog. Navigating to any other page with InCircles embedded on it results in my being told that my name has already been taken and a number getting slapped onto the end of my name. Thus I'm at once Joanie, Joanie2, and Joanie47. To make matters more interesting, refreshing the page will cause the number to change. Once InCircles takes off, it will become increasingly difficult to choose a unique user name due to other users. Having to compete with oneself just complicates matters. Couldn't the user name be associated with one's IP address so that as long as I'm the only Joanie, I can be "Joanie" when viewing multiple pages?
• Add the ability to store messages for just a little while.
  While I really do like the fact that messages don't get stored on the page, things like refreshing a page and navigating away from a page (say by following a link) will cause the chat history to vanish. Several times I have noticed text appear just as I was leaving the page and had to ask the individual to repeat what was said. If it would be possible to have messages temporarily stored for, say, a couple of minutes, accidentally leaving the page or needing to refresh it wouldn't result in any loss in the conversation.
• Find a way to be able to embed the flash object that is valid XHTML.
  Currently my site no longer validates.
• Be sure to adhere to the Best Practices for Accessible Flash Design.
  It's the right thing to do, and it would help to ensure compliance with Section 508 of the Rehab Act. While I have a number of ideas for how I can incorporate InCircles into my summer course, if InCircles is not accessible to users with visual impairments it won't matter: I personally am not willing to select a technology that not all of my students can use -- and even if I were willing, neither the university nor my agency would permit me to do so....