How do I permanently sign off/disable chat?

You can completely turn off chat completely in your  Privacy section (Account)

http://www.chess.com/home/privacy.html

Where it says "Chat Bar", use the drop down box and mark as "Never Show" then save settings at the bottom of the page

I have "never show".  Yet each game still shows chats.  I have had to individually disable chat each game because of multiple rude comments from jerks.  I wish there were some way to remove all chats or to punish abusers.

After entering Live Chess, click on Settings near the top of the screen, then the Play tab. Choose "Never" from the drop-down list next to Chat. Voila!

It makes me feel when people disable chat and won't talk to me It also hurts my self esteem.