That ugly thing to the bottom left-hand corner

[Catboi]

I suggest including an option to disable the chat box. I can honestly say it has never come in handy as it is utterly worthless and to top that off it also takes up my valuable screen real-estate that could be used for better situational awareness during raids which are already pretty clamped.

[Zankumo]

You can. Right click the general tab and click Hide Log Window

[dragonseth07]

You can. Right click the general tab and click Hide Log Window

Hmm. I wonder if all those people who never respond in chat and get kicked after screwing up the same mechanic repeatedly have the chat off.

That would explain why they can't seem to get things like "stand on the pad" through their thick skulls.

[Merryl]

Probably. I know I've minimized the thing a few times when the trash talk enters the xxx beyond explosive.
At some point it just becomes a distraction and you just have to stop looking at it.

[Niwashi]

You can. Right click the general tab and click Hide Log Window

This only temporarily hides it, though. I'm not sure about keyboard/mouse players, but controller players cannot select any other HUD element or alternate between windows without bringing the chat box back up. (Clicking the touchpad cycles between HUD controls and active windows, but the first one selected is always the chat box, bringing it back up if currently hidden.)

I know I've minimized the thing a few times when the trash talk enters the xxx beyond explosive.
At some point it just becomes a distraction and you just have to stop looking at it.

If the annoyance is limited to a particular channel, a better option can often be to just remove that channel from the active tab you generally watch. You can put it on one of the other tabs if you still want access to it at times, but without interrupting your gameplay.

[Sida]

Or, to make one chat tab which is empty, or only includes things you might find important, such as system messages if so inclined.