diff --git a/admin/app/admin/chat_messages.rb b/admin/app/admin/chat_messages.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..29dfaed52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/admin/app/admin/chat_messages.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+ActiveAdmin.register JamRuby::ChatMessage, :as => 'ChatMessage' do
+  # Note: a lame thing is it's not obvious how to make it search on email instead of user_id.
+  filter :music_session_id
+  filter :user_id
+
+  menu :parent => 'Misc'
+
+  config.per_page = 200
+
+  config.sort_order = 'created_at DESC'
+
+  index do
+    column 'User' do |oo| link_to(oo.user.email, oo.user.admin_url, {:title => oo.user.email}) end
+    column "Timestamp" do |post|
+      (post.created_at).strftime('%b %d %Y, %H:%M')
+    end
+    column "Message" do |post|
+      post.message
+    end
+    actions
+
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/up/chat_channel.sql b/db/up/chat_channel.sql
index 1e94e7e16..ea0cbba75 100644
--- a/db/up/chat_channel.sql
+++ b/db/up/chat_channel.sql
@@ -1,2 +1,4 @@
 ALTER TABLE chat_messages ADD COLUMN channel VARCHAR(128) NOT NULL DEFAULT 'session';
-ADD INDEX
\ No newline at end of file
+CREATE INDEX chat_messages_idx_channels ON chat_messages(channel);
+CREATE INDEX chat_messages_idx_created_at ON chat_messages(created_at);
+CREATE INDEX chat_messages_idx_music_session_id ON chat_messages(music_session_id);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/chat_message.rb b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/chat_message.rb
index fc7b51929..8e650bad7 100644
--- a/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/chat_message.rb
+++ b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/chat_message.rb
@@ -29,10 +29,14 @@ module JamRuby
         start = params[:start].presence
         start = start.to_i || 0
 
-        music_session_id = params[:music_session]
+        query = ChatMessage.where('channel = ?', params[:channel])
 
-        query = ChatMessage.where('music_session_id = ?', music_session_id)
-                    .offset(start).limit(limit)
+        if params.has_key? (:music_session)
+          music_session_id = params[:music_session]
+          query = ChatMessage.where('music_session_id = ?', music_session_id)
+        end
+
+        query = query.offset(start).limit(limit).order('created_at DESC')
 
         if query.length == 0
           [query, nil]
diff --git a/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/user.rb b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/user.rb
index b8e99e6cd..c99b36bcd 100644
--- a/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/user.rb
+++ b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/user.rb
@@ -1230,7 +1230,11 @@ module JamRuby
                 user.errors.add(:email, "is not real")
               end
             elsif result == "risky" || result == "unknown"
-              user.email_needs_verification = true
+              if response.body["disposable"]
+                user.errors.add(:email, "is disposable address")
+              else
+                user.email_needs_verification = true
+              end
             end
           else
             user.email_needs_verification = false
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/JamServer.js b/web/app/assets/javascripts/JamServer.js
index 0f6c48cbe..139f86a89 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/JamServer.js
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/JamServer.js
@@ -295,11 +295,15 @@
     function markAway() {
       logger.debug("sleep again!")
       active = false;
+      context.UserActivityActions.setActive(active)
+      var userStatus = msg_factory.userStatus(false, null);
+      server.send(userStatus);
     }
 
     function activityCheck() {
       var timeoutTime = 300000; // 5 * 1000 * 60 , 5 minutes
       active = true;
+      context.UserActivityActions.setActive(active)
       activityTimeout = setTimeout(markAway, timeoutTime);
       $(document).ready(function() {
         $('body').bind('mousedown keydown touchstart focus', function(event) {
@@ -316,6 +320,7 @@
             }
           }
           active = true;
+          context.UserActivityActions.setActive(active)
           activityTimeout = setTimeout(markAway, timeoutTime);
         });
       });
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/chatPanel.js b/web/app/assets/javascripts/chatPanel.js
index fa6033939..32aaf043c 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/chatPanel.js
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/chatPanel.js
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-(function(context,$) {
+(function (context, $) {
 
   "use strict";
   context.JK = context.JK || {};
-  context.JK.ChatPanel = function(app) {
+  context.JK.ChatPanel = function (app) {
     var logger = context.JK.logger;
     var rest = context.JK.Rest();
     var $panel = null;
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
     var $errorMsg = null;
     var sendingMessage = false;
     var showing = false;
-    var fullyInitialized = false;
+    var fullyInitialized = true;
     var renderQueue = [];
     var sidebar = null;
     var user = null;
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
     var next = null;
 
     function reset() {
-      fullyInitialized = false;
+      fullyInitialized = true;
       renderQueue = [];
       sendingMessage = false;
       //$chatMessages.empty();
@@ -45,28 +45,28 @@
     }
 
     function sendMessage() {
-      if(!context.JK.JamServer.connected) {
+      if (!context.JK.JamServer.connected) {
         return false;
       }
 
       var msg = $textBox.val();
-      if(!msg || msg == '') {
+      if (!msg || msg == '') {
         // don't bother the server with empty messages
         return false;
       }
 
-      if(!sendingMessage) {
+      if (!sendingMessage) {
         sendingMessage = true;
 
         rest.createChatMessage(buildMessage())
-          .done(function() {
+          .done(function () {
             $textBox.val('');
             renderMessage(msg, user.id, user.name, new Date().toISOString(), true);
           })
-          .fail(function(jqXHR) {
+          .fail(function (jqXHR) {
             app.notifyServerError(jqXHR, 'Unable to Send Chat Message');
           })
-          .always(function() {
+          .always(function () {
             sendingMessage = false;
           })
 
@@ -84,9 +84,9 @@
         sender: senderId == user.id ? 'me' : senderName,
         sent: sent
       };
-      var txt = $(context._.template($('#template-chat-message').html(), options, { variable: 'data' }));
+      var txt = $(context._.template($('#template-chat-message').html(), options, {variable: 'data'}));
       txt.find('.timeago').timeago();
-      if(append) {
+      if (append) {
         $chatMessages.append(txt);
         scrollToBottom();
       }
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@
     }
 
     function drainQueue() {
-      context._.each(renderQueue, function(msg) {
+      context._.each(renderQueue, function (msg) {
         renderMessage(msg.message, msg.user_id, msg.user_name, msg.sent, true);
       });
       renderQueue = [];
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@
         evt.preventDefault();
         pasteIntoInput(this, "\n");
       }
-      else if(evt.keyCode == 13 && !evt.shiftKey){
+      else if (evt.keyCode == 13 && !evt.shiftKey) {
         sendMessage();
         return false;
       }
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@
         $textBox.keydown(handleEnter);
         $sendChatMessageBtn.click(sendMessage);
       }
-      else {
+       else {
         $form.submit(null);
         $textBox.keydown(null);
         $sendChatMessageBtn.click(null);
@@ -150,26 +150,21 @@
 
     // called from sidebar when messages come in
     function chatMessageReceived(payload) {
-      //if(fullyInitialized) {
-        //if (isChatPanelVisible()) {
-        //  renderMessage(payload.msg, payload.sender_id, payload.sender_name, payload.created_at, true);
-        //}
-        //else {
+      if (fullyInitialized) {
+        if (isChatPanelVisible()) {
+
+        }
+        else {
           highlightCount();
           incrementChatCount();
-        //  renderQueue.push({message: payload.msg, user_id: payload.sender_id, user_name: payload.sender_name, sent: payload.created_at});
-
           context.jamClient.UserAttention(true);
-        //}
-      //}
-      //else {
-      //  renderQueue.push({message: payload.msg, user_id: payload.sender_id, user_name: payload.sender_name, sent: payload.created_at});
-      //}
+        }
+      }
     }
 
     function registerChatMessage(bind) {
       if (bind && bind == true) {
-        context.JK.JamServer.registerMessageCallback(context.JK.MessageType.CHAT_MESSAGE, function(header, payload) {
+        context.JK.JamServer.registerMessageCallback(context.JK.MessageType.CHAT_MESSAGE, function (header, payload) {
           logger.debug("Handling CHAT_MESSAGE msg " + JSON.stringify(payload));
           chatMessageReceived(payload);
           context.ChatActions.msgReceived(payload);
@@ -185,10 +180,13 @@
     function opened() {
       lowlightCount();
       setCount(0);
-
       drainQueue();
     }
 
+    function fullyOpened() {
+      context.ChatActions.fullyOpened()
+    }
+
     function sessionStarted(e, data) {
       $sessionId = data.session.id;
 
@@ -197,36 +195,23 @@
       //$chatMessagesScroller.show();
       $errorMsg.hide();
       $panel.find('.panel-header').trigger('click');
-      $panel.on('open', opened);
       $panel.find('.btn-next-pager').attr('href', '/api/sessions/' + $sessionId + '/chats?page=1');
 
       reset();
 
       context.ChatActions.sessionStarted($sessionId);
-
-      // load previous chat messages
-      rest.getChatMessages(buildQuery())
-        .done(function (response) {
-          //handleChatResponse(response);
-
-          context.ChatActions.loadMessages('session', response)
-          //scrollToBottom(true);
-          showing = true;
-          fullyInitialized = true;
-          drainQueue();
-        })
-        .fail(function (jqXHR) {
-          app.notifyServerError(jqXHR, 'Unable to Load Session Conversations')
-        });
+      showing = true
+      fullyInitialized = true;
+      drainQueue();
 
       events(true);
     }
 
     function sessionStopped(e, data) {
       // open chat panel
-      $chatSender.hide();
-      $chatMessagesScroller.hide();
-      $errorMsg.show();
+      //$chatSender.hide();
+      //$chatMessagesScroller.hide();
+      //$errorMsg.show();
 
       reset();
       events(false);
@@ -254,9 +239,9 @@
     }
 
     function buildQuery() {
-      var query = {type: 'CHAT_MESSAGE', music_session: $sessionId, limit:LIMIT, page:currentPage};
+      var query = {type: 'CHAT_MESSAGE', music_session: $sessionId, limit: LIMIT, page: currentPage};
 
-      if(next) {
+      if (next) {
         query.start = next;
       }
 
@@ -274,11 +259,11 @@
 
       renderChats(response.chats);
 
-      if(response.next == null) {
+      if (response.next == null) {
         // if we less results than asked for, end searching
         $chatMessagesScroller.infinitescroll('pause');
 
-        if(currentPage > 0) {
+        if (currentPage > 0) {
           // there are bugs with infinitescroll not removing the 'loading'.
           // it's most noticeable at the end of the list, so whack all such entries
           $('.infinite-scroll-loader').remove();
@@ -306,10 +291,10 @@
           msg: $('<div class="infinite-scroll-loader">Loading ...</div>'),
           img: '/assets/shared/spinner-32.gif'
         },
-        path: function(page) {
+        path: function (page) {
           return '/api/sessions/' + $sessionId + '/chats?' + $.param(buildQuery());
         }
-      },function(json, opts) {
+      }, function (json, opts) {
         handleChatResponse(json);
       });
       $chatMessagesScroller.infinitescroll('resume');
@@ -321,30 +306,26 @@
       $contents = $panel.find('.chatcontents');
       $chatMessagesScroller = $panel.find('.chat-list-scroller');
       $count = $panel.find('#sidebar-chat-count');
-      //$chatMessages = $panel.find('.previous-chat-list');
-      //$sendChatMessageBtn = $panel.find('.btn-send-chat-message');
-      //$chatSender = $panel.find('.chat-sender');
-      //$form = $panel.find('.chat-message-form');
-      //$textBox = $form.find('textarea');
+
       $errorMsg = $panel.find('.chat-status');
-
       $errorMsg.show();
-      //$chatSender.hide();
-      //$chatMessagesScroller.hide();
 
+      $panel.on('open', opened);
+      $panel.on('fullyOpen', fullyOpened);
       app.user()
         .done(function (userDetail) {
           user = userDetail;
 
           registerChatMessage(true);
+
         });
     }
 
     this.initialize = initialize;
     this.sessionStarted = sessionStarted;
-    this.sessionStopped =   sessionStopped;
+    this.sessionStopped = sessionStopped;
     this.registerChatMessage = registerChatMessage;
   };
 
   return this;
-})(window,jQuery);
\ No newline at end of file
+})(window, jQuery);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/jam_rest.js b/web/app/assets/javascripts/jam_rest.js
index 953b9e0a7..b45cf5325 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/jam_rest.js
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/jam_rest.js
@@ -1711,11 +1711,9 @@
         }
 
         function getChatMessages(options) {
-          var musciSessionId = options["music_session"];
-          delete options["music_session"];
           return $.ajax({
             type: "GET",
-            url: '/api/sessions/' + musciSessionId + '/chats?' + $.param(options),
+            url: '/api/chat?' + $.param(options),
             dataType: "json",
             contentType: 'application/json'
           })
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/layout.js b/web/app/assets/javascripts/layout.js
index 3ea51c8be..19a25056c 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/layout.js
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/layout.js
@@ -290,7 +290,9 @@
       $('[layout-panel="contents"]').css({"height": "1px"});
       $expandedPanelContents.show();
       $expandedPanel.triggerHandler('open')
-      $expandedPanelContents.animate({"height": expandedPanelHeight + "px"}, opts.animationDuration);
+      $expandedPanelContents.animate({"height": expandedPanelHeight + "px"}, opts.animationDuration, function() {
+        $expandedPanel.triggerHandler('fullyOpen')
+      });
     }
 
     function layoutHeader(screenWidth, screenHeight) {
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components.js b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components.js
index 8c4e9b8db..aa06843e3 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components.js
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components.js
@@ -3,18 +3,20 @@
 //= require_directory ./react-components/helpers
 //= require_directory ./react-components/actions
 //= require ./react-components/stores/AppStore
+//= require ./react-components/stores/UserStore
+//= require ./react-components/stores/UserActivityStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/InstrumentStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/LanguageStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/GenreStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/SubjectStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/ProfileStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/PlatformStore
-//= require ./react-components/stores/ChatStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/BrowserMediaStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/RecordingStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/VideoStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/SessionStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/SessionStatsStore
+//= require ./react-components/stores/ChatStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/MixerStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/ConfigureTracksStore
 //= require ./react-components/stores/JamTrackStore
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/ChatWindow.js.jsx.coffee b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/ChatWindow.js.jsx.coffee
index d0e739387..3aa8172dc 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/ChatWindow.js.jsx.coffee
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/ChatWindow.js.jsx.coffee
@@ -86,7 +86,6 @@ ChatActions = @ChatActions
       return false
 
     msg = @textBox.val()
-    logger.debug("text box: " + msg)
     if !msg? || msg == ''
       # don't bother the server with empty messages
       return false;
@@ -100,7 +99,10 @@ ChatActions = @ChatActions
     @sendingMessage = false
 
   sendMsgFail: (jqXHR) ->
-    @app.notifyServerError(jqXHR, 'Unable to Send Chat Message')
+    if jqXHR.status == 404
+      @app.notifyServerError(jqXHR, 'Session chat is only available while in session.')
+    else
+      @app.notifyServerError(jqXHR, 'Unable to Send Chat Message')
     @sendingMessage = false
 
   handleSendMessage: (e) ->
@@ -118,9 +120,9 @@ ChatActions = @ChatActions
       speed = 'slow'
     @lastChannel = @state.channel
 
-    speed = 0 #slow
+    #speed = 0 #slow
     $scroller = @root.find('.chat-list-scroller')
-    @root.animate({scrollTop: $scroller[0].scrollHeight}, speed)
+    $scroller.animate({scrollTop: $scroller[0].scrollHeight}, speed)
 
   pasteIntoInput: (el, text) ->
     el.focus();
@@ -138,8 +140,7 @@ ChatActions = @ChatActions
   handleEnter: (evt) ->
     if evt.keyCode == 13 && evt.shiftKey
       evt.preventDefault()
-      @pasteIntoInput(this, "\n")
+      @pasteIntoInput($(evt.target).get(0), "\n")
     else if evt.keyCode == 13 && !evt.shiftKey
       @sendMessage()
-      return false
 })
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/JamTrackLandingScreen.js.jsx.coffee b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/JamTrackLandingScreen.js.jsx.coffee
index 0a0b8922f..c5d09b153 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/JamTrackLandingScreen.js.jsx.coffee
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/JamTrackLandingScreen.js.jsx.coffee
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ rest = context.JK.Rest()
     playJamTracks = []
 
     for jamTrack in @state.purchasedJamTracks
-      playJamTracks.push `<tr className="play-jamtrack"><td>
+      playJamTracks.push `<tr key={jamTrack.id} className="play-jamtrack"><td>
         <a href={JamTrackPlayerStore.createPopupUrl(jamTrack)} target="_blank" onClick={this.onPlayJamTrack.bind(this, jamTrack)}>{jamTrack.name}</a> by {jamTrack.original_artist}</td></tr>`
 
     if @state.purchasedJamTracks.length < 5
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/TeacherExperienceEditableList.js.jsx.coffee b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/TeacherExperienceEditableList.js.jsx.coffee
index 0177cb7ed..e6f720de5 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/TeacherExperienceEditableList.js.jsx.coffee
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/TeacherExperienceEditableList.js.jsx.coffee
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ logger = context.JK.logger
     errors = []
     if this.state.errors?
       for error in this.state.errors
-        errors.push(`<span>{error}</span>`)
+        errors.push(`<span key={error}>{error}</span>`)
 
     `<div className="TeacherExperienceEditableList react-component">
       <form className="teacher-experience-teaching-form">
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/YearSelect.js.jsx.coffee b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/YearSelect.js.jsx.coffee
index 483eb347e..9b543533e 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/YearSelect.js.jsx.coffee
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/YearSelect.js.jsx.coffee
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ logger = context.JK.logger
     
     now = new Date().getFullYear()
     for yr in [now..1916]
-      options.push `<option value={yr}>{yr}</option>`
+      options.push `<option key={yr} value={yr}>{yr}</option>`
 
     `<select className="YearSelect react-component" name={this.props.name} required placeholder="Select" defaultValue={now}>
        {options}
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/actions/ChatActions.js.coffee b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/actions/ChatActions.js.coffee
index 41b65f36a..4b05d8d78 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/actions/ChatActions.js.coffee
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/actions/ChatActions.js.coffee
@@ -7,4 +7,5 @@ context = window
   emptyChannel: {}
   sessionStarted: {}
   activateChannel: {}
+  fullyOpened: {}
 })
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/actions/UserActivityActions.js.coffee b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/actions/UserActivityActions.js.coffee
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..685d39fac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/actions/UserActivityActions.js.coffee
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+context = window
+
+@UserActivityActions = Reflux.createActions({
+  setActive: {}
+})
+
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/stores/ChatStore.js.coffee b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/stores/ChatStore.js.coffee
index 87ea6ce42..60b90e5af 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/stores/ChatStore.js.coffee
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/stores/ChatStore.js.coffee
@@ -1,33 +1,73 @@
 $ = jQuery
 context = window
 logger = context.JK.logger
+SessionStore = context.SessionStore
 
 @ChatStore = Reflux.createStore(
   {
     listenables: @ChatActions
 
+    limit: 20,
+    currentPage: 0,
+    next: null,
     channel: 'global',
+    systemMsgId: 0
     msgs: {global:[], session:[]}
 
     init: () ->
       # Register with the app store to get @app
       this.listenTo(context.AppStore, this.onAppInit)
+      this.listenTo(context.UserActivityStore, this.onUserActivityChanged)
 
     onAppInit: (@app) ->
-      #$(document).on(EVENTS.SESSION_STARTED, ((e, data) =>
-        #@sessionStarted(e, data);
-      #  return false
-      #))
+      if context.JK.currentUserId?
+        @fetchHistory()
 
-      # $(context.AppStore).on('SessionStarted', @onSessionStarted)
+    onUserActivityChanged: (state) ->
+      systemMsg = {}
+      @systemMsgId = @systemMsgId + 1
+      systemMsg.sender_name = 'System'
+      systemMsg.sender_id = 'system'
+      systemMsg.msg_id = @systemMsgId
+      systemMsg.created_at = new Date().toISOString()
+      systemMsg.channel = 'global'
+      if state.active
+        systemMsg.msg = "You've come back!"
+      else
+        systemMsg.msg = "You've become inactive.  Any global chat messages while away will be missed."
+
+      @onMsgReceived(systemMsg)
+
+    # after the animation to open the chat panel is done, do it!
+    onFullyOpened: () ->
+      @changed()
 
     # called from ChatPanel
     onSessionStarted: () ->
-      logger.debug("ChatStore: onSessionStarted", this)
       @msgs['session'] = []
       @channel = 'session'
+      @fetchHistory()
       @onEmptyChannel(@channel)
 
+    buildQuery: () ->
+      query = {type: 'CHAT_MESSAGE', limit:@limit, page: @currentPage, channel: @channel};
+
+      if @channel == 'session' && SessionStore.currentSessionId?
+        query.music_session = SessionStore.currentSessionId
+
+      if @next
+        query.start = next
+      return query
+
+    fetchHistory: () ->
+      # load previous chat messages
+      rest.getChatMessages(@buildQuery())
+      .done((response) =>
+        @onLoadMessages(@channel, response)
+      ).fail((jqXHR) =>
+        @app.notifyServerError(jqXHR, 'Unable to Load Session Conversations')
+      )
+
     onEmptyChannel: (channel) ->
       @msgs[channel] = []
       @changed()
@@ -42,6 +82,7 @@ logger = context.JK.logger
         convert.msg_id = chat.id
         convert.created_at = chat.created_at
         convert.channel = chat.channel
+        converted.push(convert)
       converted
 
     # called from ChatPanel
@@ -54,11 +95,27 @@ logger = context.JK.logger
 
       history = @convertServerMessages(msgs.chats)
 
-      @msgs[channel] = history.concat(channelMsgs)
+      for oldMsg in history
+        skip = false
+        for channelMsg in channelMsgs
+          if oldMsg.msg_id == channelMsg.msg_id
+            skip = true
+            break
+
+        if !skip
+          channelMsgs.unshift(oldMsg)
+
+      #totalMsgs = history.concat(channelMsgs)
+      channelMsgs.sort((a, b) =>
+        c = new Date(a.created_at)
+        d = new Date(b.created_at)
+        return  (c > d) - (c < d)
+      )
+      @msgs[channel] = channelMsgs
+
       @changed()
 
     onMsgReceived: (msg) ->
-      logger.debug("ChatStore.msgReceived", msg)
 
       channelMsgs = @msgs[msg.channel]
 
@@ -79,6 +136,7 @@ logger = context.JK.logger
 
     onActivateChannel: (channel) ->
       @channel = channel
+      @fetchHistory()
       @changed()
 
     onSendMsg: (msg, done, fail) ->
@@ -87,16 +145,15 @@ logger = context.JK.logger
 
         done(response)
 
-        #console.log("ON SEND MESSAGE SIMULATE", response)
-
-        @onMsgReceived({
-          sender_name: "me",
-          sender_id: context.JK.currentUserId,
-          msg: msg,
-          msg_id: response.id,
-          created_at: response.created_at,
-          channel: @channel
-        })
+        if response.channel == 'session'
+          @onMsgReceived({
+            sender_name: "me",
+            sender_id: context.JK.currentUserId,
+            msg: msg,
+            msg_id: response.id,
+            created_at: response.created_at,
+            channel: response.channel
+          })
       )
       .fail((jqXHR) =>
         fail(jqXHR)
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/stores/UserActivityStore.js.coffee b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/stores/UserActivityStore.js.coffee
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..461fdee40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/react-components/stores/UserActivityStore.js.coffee
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+$ = jQuery
+context = window
+logger = context.JK.logger
+
+@UserActivityStore = Reflux.createStore(
+  {
+    active: true
+
+    listenables: @UserActivityActions
+
+    init: ->
+      this.listenTo(context.AppStore, this.onAppInit)
+
+    onAppInit: (@app) ->
+
+    onSetActive: (active) ->
+      if active != @active
+        @active = active
+        @changed()
+
+    changed:() ->
+      @trigger(@getState())
+
+    getState:() ->
+      {active: @active}
+  }
+)
diff --git a/web/app/assets/stylesheets/client/react-components/ChatWindow.css.scss b/web/app/assets/stylesheets/client/react-components/ChatWindow.css.scss
index f17b2a68a..b6e5e3ce1 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/stylesheets/client/react-components/ChatWindow.css.scss
+++ b/web/app/assets/stylesheets/client/react-components/ChatWindow.css.scss
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+@import "client/common";
+
 div[data-react-class="ChatWindow"] {
   height:100%;
 
@@ -5,6 +7,14 @@ div[data-react-class="ChatWindow"] {
     height:100%;
   }
 
+  .active-tab {
+    height: 100%;
+    position: relative;
+    top: -24px;
+    box-sizing: border-box;
+    padding-bottom: 54px;
+    margin-top:24px;
+  }
   .chat-tabs {
     text-align:center;
   }
@@ -15,19 +25,22 @@ div[data-react-class="ChatWindow"] {
 
     padding:2px;
     color: #ED3618;
-    background-color:#09525b;
     border-style:solid;
     border-color:#09525b;
-    border-width:1px;
 
     a {
       //color:white;
       text-decoration: underline;
+      color: #aaa;
+      &:hover {
+        color: #fc0;
+      }
     }
 
     &.active {
       a {
         text-decoration: none;
+        color:white;
       }
       background-color:transparent;
       border-color:#09525b;
@@ -42,7 +55,7 @@ div[data-react-class="ChatWindow"] {
     overflow: auto;
     margin: 0px 15px;
     /*height: 210px;*/
-    height: 73%;
+    height: 100%;
   }
   .chart-text-section {
 
diff --git a/web/app/controllers/api_chats_controller.rb b/web/app/controllers/api_chats_controller.rb
index 26bd1bac9..93ca0d79a 100644
--- a/web/app/controllers/api_chats_controller.rb
+++ b/web/app/controllers/api_chats_controller.rb
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ class ApiChatsController < ApiController
     @chat_msg.user_id = current_user.id
     @chat_msg.music_session_id = @music_session.id if @music_session
     @chat_msg.message = params[:message]
+    @chat_msg.channel = params[:channel]
 
     if @chat_msg.save
       ChatMessage.send_chat_msg @music_session, @chat_msg, current_user, params[:client_id], params[:channel]
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@ class ApiChatsController < ApiController
   end
 
   def check_session
-    if params.has_key?(:music_session)
+    if params.has_key?(:music_session) || params[:channel] == 'session'
       @music_session = ActiveMusicSession.find(params[:music_session])
       if @music_session.nil?
         raise ArgumentError, 'specified session not found'
diff --git a/web/config/routes.rb b/web/config/routes.rb
index 2638fcf93..36643a5e2 100644
--- a/web/config/routes.rb
+++ b/web/config/routes.rb
@@ -448,7 +448,7 @@ SampleApp::Application.routes.draw do
 
     # session chat
     match '/chat'                     => 'api_chats#create',  :via => :post
-    match '/sessions/:music_session/chats'       => 'api_chats#index',   :via => :get
+    match '/chat'                     => 'api_chats#index',   :via => :get
 
     # user recordings
     # match '/users/:id/recordings' => 'api_users#recording_index', :via => :get