The College Student's Guide To Instant Messenger Etiquette

1) It is required to offer all IMing partners some kind of farewell before signing off of Instant Messenger completely. One must wait until all parties have said goodbye before signing off.

2) One must use indicator of sarcasm and/or humor after making like comments, i.e. Smiley Face or equally appropriate laugh symbols.

3) One must inform the other party if one must take a leave of absence from computer terminal. Feel free to use any abbreviation necessary. i.e. AFK, BRB.

4) Serious topics can only be discussed in an Instant Messenger environment under the following circumstances:
If said relationship is primarily based on online communication.
If said relationship is newly formed.
If serious topic is very embarrassing.

5) Be aware that all information in an IM conversation has the ability to be saved, pasted and/or forwarded to at least 237 of the IM partner's closest friends.

6) One does not reserve the right to get angry if any Instant Messenger information is shared with the general public.

7) It is recommended to wait at least one minute or the time it takes for screen name to leave boldfaced state before messaging buddy.

8) Wait a minimum period of 10 minutes after initial IM before accusing party of IM avoidance. If, after 10 minutes, buddy has not been reduced to his/her idle state, one reserves the right to be offended.

9) Be familiar with the status of all buddies, such as people you will never IM, people you don't actually know, or people you stalk. Make certain each buddy is separated according to status, as to avoid accidental IMing.

10) One cannot be the initial IMer consistently over a short time period. After a maximum of 3 initial IMs, one must refrain all IM initiating until other party initiates an IM interaction.

11) ONE MAY NOT SIGN OFF MID CONVERSATION. However, if there are circumstances beyond your control suck as getting "logged off" or "booted," one must offer an explanation upon the next IM interaction.

12) Recommended time between each response is a maximum of 1.5 minutes. If user provides reasonable explanation (i.e. slow server, external events, or multiple IM interactions), response time can be extended.

13) If involved in a particularly intense IM conversation, all other IMs must be terminated immediately!