Instant Messaging for Introverts, or Rude is Plain Old Rude

I carry a cell phone, when I remember to take it with me off my desk. I used to use IM, mostly on tech. forums. However, neither is as bad, in my estimation, as call waiting. Being called, then told to wait repeatedly while another incoming call comes in is worse than either or both the aforementioned supposed abominations of the cell phone and IM. The former can be literally a life saver and the later can be constructive if used in moderation.

I really hate my land line more, because I answer with a snarl expecting another unwanted marketing call. Nonetheless, i have to keep myself under a bit of control, since some calls are warranted (appointment reminders, etc.) for which I must apologize for my rudeness. Perhaps unsurprisingly that is met with understanding. If my daughter would only learn to use my business line and/or cell phone I could ignore the land line entirely. But that is unlikely.

Quoting:“This is why I love email as a mode of communication. I get many dozens of messages every day, but I can answer them whenever I want.”

Me three. We use IM at work but I've trained people not to use it unless it's urgent. Same thing with the phone. My response always is "Is it urgent? No? Send it by e-mail". And I have also told all my coworkers that I read e-mail only three times a day: In the morning when I come in, right before or after my lunch break and about half an hour before I go home. I love it for the same reason you and Joe Kissell love it: I will answer you when it suits me, not when it suits you.

Heh, I even make coworkers who show up at my desk wait until I am finished with something before I let them speak :-)

Quoting: Heh, I even make coworkers who show up at my desk wait until I am finished with something before I let them speak :-)

LOL! Do you speak in the third person, too? "We are ready to hear you now, and we grant you thirty seconds."

The worst thing about working in an office is fending off the wandering lonesome souls who have nothing to do. They're like little planetoids in lost orbits, seeking kind souls to latch on to and suck the life out of.

Quoting:LOL! Do you speak in the third person, too?

Hehe, no :-) And I don't make them wait too long. That would be rude. Just enough time to finish up whatever I'm going at the moment (finising up an e-mail, completing that block of code, etcetera). But I don't make exceptions. I even make by boss wait if I'm in the middle of something. If I don't I will simply loose my train of thought and be disoriented when I get back to it. That usually leads to buggy code.