I think proximity chat is a must have. However proximity voice chat would be a disaster. I just don't believe the majority of players are mature enough for that. Following your suggestion you would likely find yourself either in fireteam chat or with the proximity chat muted all the time. So while I do think your suggestion is a good immediate fix that Bungie could implement I believe I have an obvious long term fix. My belief is that it will be up to Microsoft and Sony to make a permanent fix that will work for not just this game but also future console MMO's or whatever they are calling this game now. The console creators need to make a chat pad similar to the one you have for the Xbox 360. Like the 360 it would snap to your controller except this one would have a button that allows you to open the in-game chat window like you see in other MMO's (this way the chat box is not always on the screen). This would allow you to have a voice chat going with your fireteam while also being able to text chat with people in game. Those chat pads are pretty easy to type without looking once you get use to them. That is just my idea to fix this problem long term. Obviously it would help if Bungie puts the pressure on the companies to get this done.