Chat rooms as a general rule tend to be a waste of space. Forums generally tend to be much better as they are significantly less instantly gratifying thus weeding out many of the morons before they even get here.
For similar reasons I've simply started ignoring the metal "scene" and most people in it as it's nothing but an attention whoring mechanism most of the time. Metalheads as a general rule are incredibly moronic. But so are rap fans, and so are pop-people, etc. Most people who get involved in a culture based around a genre of music tend to need some type of social reassurance that it's okay to like that music, or pretend to like the music to fit into said culture.
Certain people and forums can definitely be cool though...those that focus more on the music and sharing/discussing new music can be great, but far too often everything just ends up in a giant pissing match over who's band is better, or who can namedrop the most obscure black metal bands...