Like all good things, IM has it’s dark side. Unlike phone and email which can be easily ignored, if you get an IM it generally pops up right in front of whatever you are doing on the computer. It’s the electronic version of tapping someone on the shoulder while they’re working. In the words of Uncle Ben Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.” In other words, IM gives you the great power to annoy the hell out of someone!
That being said, I decided to summarize the 5 most annoying things that IM buddy’s do:
1. “Hit & Run” IM
The “Hit & Run” is when a buddy logs onto IM only when they want to contact you. They come online, hit you with an IM then flee the scene once their question has been answered! They go right back off-line and you can never IM them when you need their help. This could happen if you’re dealing with someone who has a modem connection. But usually the case is , ironically, they themselves don’t want to be interrupted by IM messages.
Solution: Block until they learn to play nice.
2. “Cliff Hanger” IM
The “Cliff Hanger” IM is when a buddy sends you a message (usually interrupting some important thought) with a message like “hey chump, you there?” To which you reply “yep, what’s crackin?” Then your buddy never sends back a reply. They just leave you hanging after they interrupted you! You sit there staring at your IM client waiting for a few minutes until you finally give up and try to remember that awesome thought you had.
Solution: When they get back to you 1 hour later, don’t reply.
3. “Time Delay” IM
The “Time Delay” IM is when a buddy is IM’ing you and, most likely, doing five other things at the same time. They take just long enough between each reply to keep stringing you along, but not enough to let you get back to work. This conveys about the same level of respect for your buddy as, say, talking to them on the phone while watching TV.
Solution: Tell them to use Email next time.
4. “Diarrhea of the IM” IM
The “Diarrhea of the IM” IM is a buddy who seemingly has nothing to do – ever. They want to chat endlessly and will IM you all the time for no reason. Their IM chats usually begin with something like “Hey whatcha doing?” This is a common symptom of the buddy who is new to IM and is excited about the ability to reach out and touch someone whenever they want.
Solution: Give them some time to get used to the thrill of IM.
5. “I Don’t Use IM” IM
Ok, so this isn’t an IM user, but a non-IM user. Let’s face it, once you use IM you want everyone you know to use it so you can reach them. Not using IM is even more annoying than all the other problems!
Solution: Send daily email bugging them to use IM.
Are you one of these people? Do you have your own IM pet peeves? Leave some feedback and let me know…
I think we’ve all had our moments on both ends of what you’ve listed so far, jason. Certainly you and I have had our moments.
I’ve got a few more for ya:
“the tease” – someone who logs in, just long enough for you to open up a new chat, but then logs off just before you hit that initial ‘send’ button, leaving you with nothing.
Sometimes, they’ll even do it two or three times in a row.
solution: wait it out – do not initiate a new chat for at least two or three minutes after someone logs in.
“the stalker” – might not be the best name, but we’ve all got someone like this: you were the one to introduce them to IMing in the first place, and you KNOW they don’t have anyone else to chat with, so when they log in, you know it’s for the sole purpose of chatting with – YOU.
solution: try to get more of their friends in on the fun, so you’re not the only target.
“perpetually away” – folks that never, EVER change their status from “away”. If you don’t want people to bug you that much, frickin’ QUIT IM!!
solution: remove them from your buddy list. If and when they want to talk to you, they’ll pop up again.
“super into it” – folks that are constantly changing their icons and status message. I mean, yeah, I guess it’s cool that you can get really specific and all, but dude – I really don’t need to know when you’re taking a crap.
solution: try not to pay that close attention, or, if your client supports it, turn off the whole status message display thing completely.
My final thought on the whole IM thing is the lack of inter-operability between client software.
When, oh when will they figure out how to get simple file transfer, picture sharing, and god forbid voice and video chatting working on all of the popular alternative clients?
Time will tell.
ha ha – nice! yes, i know we are all guilty of all of these from time to time!
The Anticipator or Thwarter – The IM-er who immediately logs off as soon as he/she sees that you’ve logged on?