Instant+Messengers

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=What are Instant Messengers?= A screenshot of MSN Messenger, a popular instant messaging system

Instant messengers or IM are synchronous forms of communication that involve direct communication between two or more people via text through computers connected to the Internet. =Overview= Instant messaging requires the use of a client program that hooks up an instant messaging service and differs from e-mail in that conversations are able to happen at the same time. Most services offer a buddy or presence feature, which allows one to keep track of the online status of a saved list of "buddies" or contacts in the system each time the user logs on. This may be called a contact list. In modern instant messaging programs, the other party in the conversation generally only sees each line of text right after a new line is started. In addition, a more recent feature in some instant messaging systems such as MSN and Yahoo also allow the user to see when another user is typing a message. Most instant messaging applications also include the ability to set a status message, such as online, busy, away, on the phone, etc.

=History= Early forms of messaging systems were implemented on private computer networks in the early 1970s such as the PLATO system and DEC PDP-11, a "talk" program. Later the Unix/Linux "talk messaging systems were widely used by engineers and academics in the 1980s and 1990s to communicate across the internet.

The first instant messaging tool was created in 1987 in the MIT lab with the graphical Zephyr client. PLATO was the first instant messenger to utilize the list of contacts or "buddy" feature with the ability to send messages. In November of 1996, a company called Mirabilis established ICQ, which was the first to introduce the instant messaging concept freely on the Internet. However, AOL also had 6 million subscribers who were using instant messaging services. When the number of users of ICQ became a threat to AOL instant messaging service, AOL acquired Mirabilis/ICQ. A few years later ICQ was awarded two patents from the U.S. patent office. After its introduction, a number of variations of instant messaging have arisen such as (Yahoo, MSN, Excite, Ubique), each with its own protocol or set of rules. More secure business and commercial methods for instant messaging were introduced by Lotus Sametime and by others. This has led to users running many instant messaging applications simultaneously to be available on several networks.Gaim, Trillian and Miranda are able to run MSN, Yahoo, and AOL instant messengers simultaneously, for example. Recently, many instant messaging instant messenging systems have video chat features which allow users to see who they are chatting with through the use of a webcam. It also allows for audio for users who have microphones.

=Examples of Instant Messaging Systems= Popular instant messaging services on the public Internet include -MSN Messenger -AOL Instant Messenger, -ICQ, -Yahoo! Messenger

=Great Features of IM= -allows for two or more users to chat at the same time -allows for video and audio chat so that it's almost like being in the same room as the user -is an inexpensive way to keep in touch with family and friends overseas

=Disadvantages of IM= -reduces quality of English language to slang (see content below) -minimizes face to face interaction -can be addictive (tell me about it!)

=Modification of the English Language : Chat Lingo= Once instant messaging became popular, many people began to use short forms or abbreviations for words creating a whole new Internet lingo or chat language. Here are some examples of some of the most common words seen in modern chatting.

U= you UR= Your KK = Ok AFK = Away From Keyboard BTW = By The Way HW = Homework IDK = I Don't Know JIT = Just In Time PPL = People WB = Welcome Back TY = Thank You WTF = What The F**K
 * BRB = Be Right Back**
 * LOL= Laughing out Loud**
 * TTYL= Talk to you later**
 * GTG/G2G= Gotta go**
 * ASL = Age/Sex/Location ( for example, when a user is asked their asl they might respond 21 f Toronto, or 35 m Tokyo)
 * TMR** **= Tomorrow**
 * NP** **= No Problem**
 * LMAO** **= Laughing my ass off**
 * ROFL** = Rolling on floor laughing

Some linguists and scholars claim that instant messaging is worsening the user's spelling and grammatical abilities. Especially since words such as you are reduced to "u" and are is reduced to "r". According to Lee (2002), "teachers say that papers are being written with shortened words, improper capitalizations, and punctuation". However, other researchers find that instant messaging has allowed students to want to write more than they normally would. According to Gloria Jacobs, students are writing more than they have in years and they are also revising editing their work. While some youngsters just type what they feel, Gloria Jacobs in her research also noticed many students planning and preparing their comments before submitting it. Either way, instant messaging appears to have a pervasive effect on the English language.

=References=

English Language:O'Connor, Amanda (2005). Instant Messaging: Friend or Foe of Student Writing? http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/literacy/oconnor.htm Overview and History:Instant messengers on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_messengers Screenshot of MSN messenger taken from: http://get.live.com/messenger/overview