Also, how would someone who wasn't a subscriber access the chat?

When you get to Combatsim page, go to the public area on the lower left, chose any link. Once there, go to the top menu and choose Combatsim Main. From there scroll down to Miscellaeneous and it's the first item. Click on that and you're in, for anubody.

From inside the Subscriber's Area, you can also just click the "Recent Articles" link just below the site logo in the nav column; the link to the chat is under the "Miscellaneous" heading.

Eventually, when I get the chat exactly how I want it, I'll make the links very easy to find.