One of the really weak and under-developed parts of ZapRead.com is the messaging and alerts system.  I'm hoping to give this part of the website some love.

I'm working on adding a live-chat ability so that sending a private message initiates a chat.  It is partially online now if you want to check it out:

go to https://www.zapread.com/Messages/Chat/{username}, where {username} is someone you have sent a private message to.  It isn't complete yet, but I'll be integrating it into the website over the next days.

More features on the way!