Hi Charles, >> I think there's lessons to be learnt in the take up of instant >> messenger clients. I have no idea how one combats the momentum of >> email but at least the instant messenger clients managed to get >> installed and find wide use.
Charles> Getting a shy off topic, I have to disagree there. I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with exactly. All I said was there are lessons to be learned from them, I didn't advocate them blindly nor did I claim they were spam-proof at any stage. The point I was trying to illustrate was that instant messenger clients have demonstrated that if a communications system offers something they need above existing standards, then they can still take off and become a big thing. Charles> Another problem with IM clients is like phone - you *have* to Charles> deal with the person *now*, or ignore them. Well I agree it's a problem but it's also a feature and pretty much why people took to them in the first place. It's a sort of point to point IRC system. I use MSN Messenger as I find it a fairly light weight solution that just works. On the other hand, I've turned off all the 'display alerts' on events stuff to get around being interrupted. Charles> Email, you can get to it when you have time. Or not at all. Or they forget. Etc. E-mail with a built-in bugging system would be quite nice in fact, I guess that's more of a client issue. I know I'd like my client to bug me that I haven't replied to stuff. Forcing the issue, delete it, mark it to ignore deliberately or get reminded to reply. Of course even if I did that, no one else would use the same system. Charles> Instant messaging leaves a lot to be desired, and I do not Charles> believe should be used as an example of "how things should be Charles> done." Neither was I putting it forward as such, oddly enough. Regards, Mat. -- To unsubscribe from this list, please send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe" in the subject, without the quotes.
