I'm not sure if this idea has been brought up before, but have you guys considered using an AH IRC where flaired and non-flaired users would interact and discuss history or questions or things relevant to their fields. I know many flaired users aren't around often but I for one would be pleased to have an interesting dialogue with that esteemed group. Flaired users could be moderators of the channel or half-mods just so they could be identified more easily.
Hope this wasn't too stupid of an idea, thanks
To be honest I really like the idea, engaging with the lay community seems to be one of the big goals to AH and this seems a great way to go about doing that. Though I'm sure there'd be issues with timing, security, et al.
Just an fyi, but while not quite the same, /r/history does maintain an IRC channel on snoonet that more people should check out! Often gets kind of lonely in there as not enough people know it is there, but it might be the kind of discussion you are looking for.