I've just always thought it was a bit silly, my sims hanging out cross legged on the floor right in front of the living room settee.

Also, while I think of it, are there any mods disabling elders from running?

You know, I'm sure that years ago my sims used to sit on armchairs to hang out. They don't any more. I dunno if it was a mod or a patch/EP thing or what...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if two or more Sims sit on chairs in the same room, they will automatically start talking to each other. Try placing a few couches or chairs near each other, have them sit, and they should start talking. I know for certain it works at the dinner table.

That's true. It's just difficult to make a non-playable sim stay there to keep talking. Hang out seems a lot more controllable.

You can use testingcheatsenabled to make them selectable, and then go into Options and turn Free Will off. They should sit and talk forever, at least until their Hunger motive drops to rock bottom.

Yeah, but I agree with Snufflepaws. Mainly because I have a "hang-out is fun" mod, so it's a great way for my Sims to become friends and unwind. So, there really isn't a mod that lets them hang out with others while standing, even? 'Cause they do look pretty stupid, especially when they're supposed to be prim and proper ladies having a good gab, but they're sitting cross-legged on the floor. Oh, well.