diff --git a/Nasal/screen.nas b/Nasal/screen.nas
index 9a5eddb79..7e2231155 100644
--- a/Nasal/screen.nas
+++ b/Nasal/screen.nas
@@ -549,7 +549,11 @@ _setlistener("/sim/signals/nasal-dir-initialized", func {
 
 
 #-- Init -----------------------------------------------------------------------
-property_display = display.new(5, -25);
+if (getprop("/sim/chat-on-the-left")) {
+    property_display = display.new(5, -250);
+} else {
+    property_display = display.new(5, -25);
+}
 listener.display = setlistener("/sim/gui/dialogs/property-browser/selected", func(n) {
     var n = n.getValue();
     if (n != "" and getprop("/devices/status/keyboard/shift")) {
@@ -567,7 +571,12 @@ setlistener("/sim/gui/current-style", func {
     theme_font = getprop("/sim/gui/selected-style/fonts/message-display/name");
 }, 1);
 
-log = window.new(nil, -30, 10, 10);
+if (getprop("/sim/chat-on-the-left")) {
+    log = window.new(5, -30, 10, 10);
+    log.align = "left";
+} else {
+    log = window.new(nil, -30, 10, 10);
+}
 log.sticky = 0;  # do not turn on; makes scrolling up messages jump left and right
 
 var b = "/sim/screen/";
diff --git a/defaults.xml b/defaults.xml
index d29bed096..a27e395ef 100644
--- a/defaults.xml
+++ b/defaults.xml
@@ -899,6 +899,7 @@ Started September 2000 by David Megginson, david@megginson.com
       <auto-attach type="bool" userarchive="y">true</auto-attach>
     </mp-carriers>
     <freeze-mouse-flight-controls-on-pause type="bool" userarchive="n">true</freeze-mouse-flight-controls-on-pause>
+    <chat-on-the-left type="bool" userarchive="y">false</chat-on-the-left>
   </sim>
   <!-- accelerations -->
   <accelerations>
diff --git a/gui/dialogs/view.xml b/gui/dialogs/view.xml
index 9d78f0f31..574b3b7f5 100644
--- a/gui/dialogs/view.xml
+++ b/gui/dialogs/view.xml
@@ -147,6 +147,15 @@
         </binding>
       </checkbox>
 
+      <checkbox>
+        <halign>left</halign>
+        <label>Chat and event log on the left (requires restart)</label>
+        <property>/sim/chat-on-the-left</property>
+        <binding>
+          <command>dialog-apply</command>
+        </binding>
+      </checkbox>
+
       <checkbox>
         <halign>left</halign>
         <label>Show popup messages</label>