Other sites in major markets have had something like this in the past (common area for their VPs and verified hobbyists); no idea how frequently it was used or how well it worked. But given some of the recent threads concerning the undesirability of last minute requests and the desirability by some for last minute sessions; perhaps this could be a solution.
A couple other ECCIE forums have a running general daily commentary (Morning Cup or something like that) - perhaps an "Available Now" thread could be added to our CoEd area; no ads, pics, or commentary; just a name and time window with all subsequent exchanges off line. Not to say such a forum would be in full compliance with all the Eccie rules and TOS or free of other of unacceptable problems and pitfalls even if somehow it were limited to VPs and those with premium access. But just to know X or Y is looking/available within a specific time window could be handy.
What say ye?