Root beer? Hot Chocolate? Suuuuuure! The bar is pretty well stocked hereabouts and, if you can't find what you want, I'm sure we've got the stuff to make whatever it is.
Chat? No, not really a common time, per se... Chat seems to ebb and flow with the mood of our Innmates, it seems. Some of us are very chatty and, at times, will have the chat rooms running full bore for hours on end... then they'll get chatted out and the rooms will get empty and dusty and depressing... Then someone will get all motivated again and POOF! CHAT!
As for posting (or PbP gaming, if you prefer). The dice rolling and whatnot is really dependent on the GM of the particular game, Satch. (Most GMs hereabouts, though, tend to do the rolling for combat and such 'behind the scenes' allowing you to focus on character character development, RP, and the not-so-technical side of things.... Here, check out
Pit F(r)iend's Guide for Newbies and see if that doesn't help make it a little easier for you to 'navigate' hereabouts.
And, of course, if you have any other questions, need a nudge in one direction or another, or are just bored and looking to kill a few minutes, give a shout and one of us will come running! We're good like that.