Instant messengers.. I dunno I'm two minds about them, I love having them for keeping in touch with friends who have headed for the coasts, and I have 'met' some people online with them (although the paranoid in me keeps popping out and saying "is that really them? or is it some construct developed by a deranged mind?.. but then again that's me
) ) but then again.. i've gotten 'spam' on icq (yahoo messenger is my prefered weapon of choice) so for the most part I'd have to go with 'they are a good thing'