<p>There isn't going to be anything we can do to change the site to 'fix' this.  All we can do is request people ask their question on the main site and don't encourage it by answering them in chat.  </p>

<p>Some reasons people ask in chat include: </p>

<ol>
<li>It's allowed for some other SE sites.  </li>
<li>They don't have an account on our site, and don't want to create one (you can chat anywhere, whether you have an account or not).  </li>
<li>They <em>like</em> the impermanence of the question, as it will soon disappear and others won't see that they had had that question (perhaps they are a little embarrassed about asking).  </li>
<li>The question isn't on-topic on the site (e.g., 'what function for this?').  </li>
</ol>

<p>The last reason is acceptable, in my opinion.  </p>
