Josh is it possible to add a timer so that one is signed out of the site after a certain amount of inactivity.
Yes, don't check the "Remember me" button when you login.
2. I seem to be permanently signed in, and so with the addition of the chat feature I assume I appear also available to chat, when I am not really there.
Log out and when you login, don't check the "Remember me" button. If you can't logout, do a hard refresh by pressing CTRL+F5 and try logging out. Then do a hard refresh again with CTRL+F5.
After you've been inactive for a few minutes, your chat color turns to yellow. If you choose that your Busy, it turns to red. Eventually, if you remain inactive, the chat system will assume you are not returning and drop you from the list of users all together.
3. I thought I had set the chat feature to busy, but in time it changed to available.
If you close out the webpage and re-open it, (and you chose the "Remember me" option when you logged in), it will reset your chat status. If you log out and back in, your chat status will also be reset. In my testing during setup, I did not notice any other time that your status was changed.
Josh