• It simply runs in the background while you are online and makes a sound to alert you when someone wants to talk to you.
• It is extremely likely that your students already use it daily to talk to their friends, and they will feel quite comfortable "paging" you on IM. They have their ID's or Screen Names already: be prepared to accept a message from "Daffy684" or "WildTerror" --they are probably messages from your students.
• It is easy to set up a temporary chat room if two or more students "page" or "ping" you at the same time.
• It is possible to pass files to one another via IM.
• Data moves quickly.
• IM has colors, fonts, and sounds which appeal to many.
• You decide to accept or reject messages or files. You decide if your ID will be listed in directories. You decide when and to whom you are available.
  

WHAT IS INSTANT MESSENGER?

Instant Messenger is really two things: a network client and an implementation of a client/server network chat system. In the manner characteristic of communication on the Internet, the name of the client has become the name of the entire system, in much the same way that some people refer to their e-mail as "my Eudora" or "my Outlook."

OK, SO WHAT IS A CLIENT/SERVER NETWORK CHAT SYSTEM?

Let's break this down into parts.

As the name implies, a server is a computer which provides services to other computers. The term "server" is also used to describe the software such a computer uses to provide its services. Virginia Tech's WWW site http://www.vt.edu is hosted by a powerful server, as is our campuswide mail system.

A client is a computer or software application which receives services from a server. The application you use to check your e-mail is a client, as is your web browser.

Chat, of course, is just informal conversation between two or more people. We can chat via a network almost as easily as we can chat in spoken words.

So, Instant Messenger is a client, a software application that receives services. It connects to a server owned by America Online (AOL), and communicates with other IM clients through that server.

"Instant Messenger" is also the name of the entire system, including both client and server. Some people even use it as a verb, e.g. "Instant Messenger me and tell me when you'll be in your office." It is often abbreviated IM.

For the purpose of our discussion, we'll use the term "Instant Messenger" (or "IM") to refer only to the actual software client you'll be using on the computer in front of you, and "the Instant Messenger system" (or "the IM system") to refer to clients and servers together.

WHY DO WE NEED A SERVER AT ALL?

It's not immediately intuitive why the Instant Messenger system requires a server. Why can't two people with the clients on their computers simply connect to each other directly?

That would work, but it would require some other means of communication between users in order to establish the initial IM connection. If you want to communicate by telephone with a colleague in another state, how do you learn his or her telephone number? (Obviously, you can't call that person and ask for the number!) You need a telephone directory, or an assistance operator.

The IM system's servers are like a telephone operator, connecting many clients together and maintaining a database of contact information.

SO HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM E-MAIL?

Your e-mail client, likely Eudora, Outlook or Exchange, only checks for new mail when you tell it to do so. If another user sent you an e-mail message last night at 11:30, and you haven't told your e-mail client to check your mail since then, you won't see the message until you do.

The IM system is real-time. Messages sent by one user are seen by the intended recipient within seconds without any intervention required on the recipient's part.

IS INSTANT MESSENGER THE ONLY CLIENT OF ITS TYPE?

IM is the only client that can connect to AOL's proprietary servers, but there are many other client/server chat systems available. The IM system actually grew out of a different chat system called ICQ (get the pun?).

Another system, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) uses a complex system of interconnected servers to connect users in "channels" somewhat like those of CB radio. IRC clients are very powerful, but much more complex to set up and use than IM.

Yahoo! and Microsoft have developed competing chat systems whose clients look and behave much like the IM client.

None of these systems are compatible; they cannot exchange messages with each other.

WHY ARE WE USING THIS PROPRIETARY CLIENT INSTEAD OF SOMETHING ELSE?

It's free.

It's reasonably fast.

It's very easy to learn.

It works on Windows PCs and Macintosh computers.

It's ubiquitous among our students.

It comes preinstalled on many computers.

I DON'T WANT TO GET A LOT OF FRIVOLOUS MESSAGES!

The IM client maintains a list of the IM system user names of people with whom you want to exchange messages. This list, called the Buddy List, allows you to keep a sort of address book of your favorite IM users. It can also be used as a mask, so that any user whose name you have not included on your Buddy List cannot communicate with you without your permission.

You can choose not to be listed in the IM directory at all. This makes things a little difficult for friends or colleagues looking for you, but it does give you more control over the number of people who know your user ID.

It's a very bad idea to allow all users to send you messages. IM can be configured to do this, but it's better to block users who aren't on your Buddy List, or at least require your approval before an incoming message is received.

IM also includes a feature called "I'm Away," which allows you to automatically reply to all incoming messages with a sort of form letter. You can create your own form letter or use the ones that come with IM. It's worth remembering, too, that you can shut down the IM client altogether when you don't want to receive messages from anyone.

IS IM TEXT-ONLY?

The early versions of IM could only exchange text messages, but the newer clients can exchange files (text, graphic, video...) as well. All caveats about accepting files over the Internet apply here.

The latest IM clients include a Talk function that allows voice communication. Use this option sparingly, as it consumes a lot of network resources. Many people's computers don't meet the requirements for using Talk, so don't assume they can use this feature just because their version of the IM client supports it.

IS IM SECURE?

You should trust IM's security about as much as you trust that of your e-mail client.

Here are some rules of thumb:

• Don't accept files from users you don't know and trust. At the very least, you should scan all received files with the latest version of a good commercial antivirus program before opening them, no matter who sent them.
• Don't assume that "TSmith45" is your good friend Thaddeus Smith unless he's told you in person that this is his user name. Anyone can make an IM system account, and there are lots of people with similar user names. TSmith45 might be Teresa Smith, a fan of the pop group The Smiths, or a malicious prankster posing as your friend Thaddeus.
• Do report harassing or threatening messages to the IM system administrators. If you suspect a student, faculty member or staff member of sending such messages, contact the campus police.
  

HOW DO I GET A COPY OF IM AND START USING IT?

Open your web browser to http://www.aol.com. You will see a download notice for AIM. This is the client you want to download. Once you have downloaded the client, you need to establish a user ID (or several) for yourself and set your preferences. I think you will find the preferences to be largely self-explanatory. In the box for "screen name" you should see <New User>. Highlight that and click the "sign on" button. You will then be sent to a form for choosing a user ID and a password. There are so many people using IM that it is unlikely you will get your first choice of user ID. You may create more than one user ID. "ProfSwenson" is the one I tell my students, but I have another ID I tell to friends and family. Whenever you sign on to IM, you can decide which people (students or friends and family) you want to have access to you at that time. If it is my online office hours or I know that my students are getting worried about an assignment, I sign in as ProfSwenson; at other times, I sign in under a different ID that I don't give to my students.