I am really starting to hate AIM...

[BuzzLY]

FYI, this is not about anyone from PHPBuilder, but I just have to vent.

I get an IM from some guy (or girl) I don't know tonight, telling me he got my name from deadlikemeonline.net (yes, I love the show). I'm in the middle of something, and don't really want to be bothered, but I figured I'd give him a few short responses and minimize the window. Then he starts going on about how he bought the DVD, and if I'm thinking of buying it, don't, cuz it's crap, yada yada... all while the window is minimized.

By the time I open the window back up (damn that infernal blinking!), he's writing a novel. So I tell him that I'm sorry, I'm in the middle of something right now, and don't really have time to chat.

He starts going off on me about how I should have told him that from the beginning! Like it's my responsibility to tell every yahoo with an AOL account and free time on their hands that even though I might have shared my AIM address on a site over a year ago, I might not have time to chat with them at the moment.

Am I wrong here? I tried to be polite, and give a few "ok's" and "mm hmm's," until he started going into a diatribe about DVD's and their alternate uses. I then politely told him I was busy, and he goes off on me. Huh??? HE pinged ME.

I have to say, though. It was the first time I ever clicked the Block button with impunity and moved on. Felt good.

Anyways... anyone here got time to chat? I'm bored. :o

[Moonglobe]

is there no support in AIM for statuses, like away, busy, on the phone, etc?

[BuzzLY]

Well... sure there are. They are handy for setting my status when I get up from the computer to go to lunch or something.

But when I'm working on some code, and I suddenly find myself buried neck-deep in troubleshooting something, you can't tell me that I should remember to stop and set my away status on all of my IM clients. Besides, my point is not "I can't be bothered right now." The point is "what's with the attitude when politely told that I'm a little too busy to chat?"

That's alls I'm saying. :D

[onion2k]

Just tell him hes a dick and be done with it. Theres 6 billion people on this planet, you don't need to be nice to them all...

[vaaaska]

My girlfriend and I often talk about the cultural changes that stuff like IM is bringing about. Youngers folks have adopted this technology in ways that would be frightening to some of us.

I know kids in college who have 100's of people in their friends list many of whom they don't know in any way except the odd random conversation. Recently I saw a documentary where high school kids were using it to "hook up" with people so that their friends wouldn't know - a new way to lose virginity.

I've had kids tell me things I never wanted to know about them via IM.

It's a strange new technology that is still shaking out - personally, it terrifies me but so did 'new wave' music.

[Elizabeth]

Originally posted by BuzzLY
It was the first time I ever clicked the Block button with impunity and moved on. Felt good. That's it Buzz- you're just too darn nice! I only talk to people I know - the rest can bite me. ;)

[vaaaska]

Buzz wouldn't talk to me. I asked for his SSN and credit card number too but he still wouldn't talk to me. Boohoo...v

[BuzzLY]

Well... you know how it is... when you're a world famous author, you have to be there for your legions of fans. :o I mean, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for them, you know? :p

[Merve]

I used to go on MSN Messenger a lot. Now I go on it every 30 days so that they don't disable my account :D