As Smitty's gone AWOL in the Scottish - I'd say highlands, but it's really not that far north - I should take this moment to remind you all that the chat room on IRC is open as it is all days (and nights) of the week.
If you get there and folks are being quiet, say hello - it may be that we're busy battling strange creatures or enticing muses and the noticfication of your arrival has gone unnoticed....
From a web browser, go to:
http://chat.mibbit.com, enter your preferred nickname and go to channel #xmfc_chat
If you prefer to set up a channel in a chat client, the server is irc.uk.mibbit.net, no password; just point it (via "join a chat" or equivalent) at the channel as above and you should find us!