Family Chat coming soon?

 

Most of us have seen where it says "real time family chat is coming soon" at the bottom of the page in the Families module. But how soon? Maybe sooner than we think. 

As players have been discovering, an option for Clan Chat settings can now be found under Account > Settings in Mafia Wars.

Clan Chat Settings is on the bottom right of the Account Settings pop-up.

Turning your chat to online does nothing at this point, as the family chat is not operational. I'm interested by the inclusion of a sound setting. I definitely like that the chat can be turned off. That put will ease the minds of many, I'm sure.

 Upon saving your chat settings, I get this popup. I'm not sure it's really supposed to be there? It looks like a write-up about how Zynga earns revenues, complete with citations. This is what it says:

Zynga is supported in two manners: via direct credit card payments and partner businesses.[32][33] Several Zynga games require an "Energy" characteristic to play. Engaging in "Missions", a core feature of many games, consumes a certain amount of energy. After expending energy, it slowly replenishes to the character's maximum limit. This can take minutes or several hours (energy replenishes whether or not players are logged into the game). After energy is replenished, players can engage in additional missions. Waiting for energy to replenish is a significant limiting factor in the games. Their support mechanisms take advantage of this. Zynga games are linked to offers from a number of partners. Players can accept credit card offers, take surveys or buy services from Zynga's partners in order to obtain game credits, which would allow them to replenish their character's energy or receive premium currency that could be exchanged for other various virtual goods. Players may also purchase game credits directly from Zynga via credit card[32] or PayPal. From within the game, players can purchase the points for a fee: USD$5.00 for 21 game credits, for example. In March 2010 Zynga started selling prepaid cards for virtual currency at more than 12,800 stores across the US.[34] Zynga also sells advertising sponsorships within some games such as movie tie-ins and other brands.[35]

 Special thanks to Lori of MIA for helping obtain the initial screen shots!