Yes, Flash chat indeed needs improvement, but as you know we have really bad feeling about Flash. So far, the only big issue that stops us (and many others) from ditching Flash altogether is live-video-streaming. It's one thing that is nearly impossible to implement with anything but Flash yet. And it's essential got A/V chat, naturally.

You do have our attention on the "BIG3" (flash/forum/padlocks) - we are considering different options every single day and we will gradually resolve see more all 3. ;-)