gripe - IM etiquette

If you are at work, and would be annoyed/embarrassed/reprimanded if you get an instant message, then don't sign on! If you are logged in to a messaging service, you are stating your openness to receiving IMs. It is not the sender's responsibility to intuit whether you are currently in a meeting, left your desk for lunch, or are in the middle of a presentation. If you need to check if someone is online without actually chatting, learn how to "ghost."

It is the sender's responsibility to be appropriate with their IMs until they are certain that "the coast is clear." So please don't send an obscenity in your first message. And don’t say anything embarrassing about someone’s roommate/boyfriend/colleague/sibling if there is a possibility they may be nearby, unless it is your intent to be completely rude and possibly start an argument.

That's my PSA for the day.