I went without using any IM for about a year and a half while we were
without a serious internet connection, but now that I'm set up again I'm
getting back into IM. To address Dave's point first (because it sets me up
to address Kevin), the only reason I see for people to use AOL is if the
content justifies it.
Everyone knows that as an ISP, AOL sucks...big. My mother however, does use
it. She knows it sticks...she often has to try for an hour or more to get
connected and has found herself bumped off on several occasions when she has
been "inactive" for more than ten minutes or so. She uses it mainly because
the bulk of her online experience is just email and a weekly book-chat in a
dedicated AOL service. She has made many friends across the country and
been able to swap opinions, recommendations and such during these Wednesday
evening chats. Of course, she has to start trying to connect at around 7pm
to be sure she's online by 8pm, and once on she has to keep it active until
the chat starts. My brother and I are working on her to get a real ISP and
just use AOL's "bring-your-own-ISP" service to log into her book chats.
Now, to get into the IM aspect. My mom & dad and my brother & sister-in-law
(+ only nephew) live in Florida (where I hailed from). One of my best
friends also lives in FL and another in Nebraska. My wife has a sister going
to school in northern Maine and another sister living even further north in
ME. All of these people communicate w/ us via email as our primary means.
However, it is nice to have one of them "beep in" on IM from time to time
and start up a little chat session for a while. A few of them have webcams
so I can actually see my nephew playing on the floor and hear him sing the
latest Bear song. And by chatting via an IM every few days or so, you
really can reduce your phone bills. I got started w/ computers back in the
mid-80s w/ BBSs and their built-in chats and have always found it a very
comfortable form of communication, and in small groups such as what I've
described, it can be. I do not do any "open room" chatting (like what gave
Kevin a bad taste), and have little interest it. I do however, greatly
enjoy being able to chat live for a while w/ one or two people at a time.
-Larry
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dave hardy [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2001 1:50 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Instant Messaging (was: Re: AOL and AIM on Linux )
>
<snip>
> My question is why is anyone using AOL??!!
>
> Dave
>
> >>> "Kevin D. Clark" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 05/03/01 01:46PM >>>
>
> What do people use instant messaging for anyways?
<snip>
> Really, this is a serious question. I have a few friends of mine who
> are in the same boat as me -- collectively, we all wonder "why should
> we use this stuff?"
>
> --kevin
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