Part of the difficulty is that neither name describes the reality very accurately. "General interest" includes many topics of very parochial interest, whereas "chat" is what is done on every thread. And, as someone has mentioned, the forum currently is little more than Hobbitland.
I suggest renaming the General Interest/Chat forum the "The Water Cooler."
It would be suitable for any kind of non-activism topic that could be discussed among professions on break at work. Thus pop culture would be permissible. And so would requests for personal help. As well as discussions of weird topics. But porn and borderline porn (e.g. Victoria's Secret fashion show galleries) that aren't appropriate in a family-friendly site would be excluded...
What do fellow Freepers think of this idea?
I think having a title that reminds one of work is not a good idea. Would be much more attractive to have it called something pleasant, like, I don't know, the garden, the park, FReeper fun house (lol)....I don't know, but not something work-related.