Instant Messaging

I've been instant messaging for years, and chatting on-line before that, must be 15 years now. Something that I've noticed recently, is that some of the etiquette seems to have been lost. It used to be that there wasn't a difference between talking on the phone and IM, that people focused primarily on the conversation(s) that they were having instead of doing other things on their computer, but not so much any more. People seem to be more of the mind that they reply when they notice the message, which might be quite some time after it was sent. This isn't entirely unreasonable, since people often have IM on when they are working or doing homework or something similar, but at the same time it leads to prolonged delays in conversations. This especially problematic if the person is not accessible at the time by other means.

But they key problem is that we don't do a good enough job of communicating our circumstances to the people at the other end of the conversation. Neglecting to mention if we're leaving the computer, or going to get a drink or going to the washroom, on the phone or watching TV.

I intend to make a greater effort to return to the etiquette of days gone by, and would appreciate it if you called me on it if I don't.