Is it just me, or does anyone else think there should be an internet convention where, when one person leaves in the middle of PM exchanges, the other person is alerted?

I’m totally the guy that never responds. I only respond if I can add something.

This drives my mom crazy.

And I sit and wait TO BE POLITE to the other person! I wouldn’t want the person to respond with a question and wait for MY answer!

And by “site”, I’m not talking Fluther specifically.

We say goodbye when we finish a phone conversation. Why should the net be different??

I answer questions. But sometimes you just need to hang up.

“I love you”
“No, I love you more”
“I love you more”

Sometimes you just need to put the damn phone down.

I wait too. I get annoyed when they take HOURS to respond back!! So I’ve learned to stop PMing that person. I think that would be a good idea. :)

You would NEVER think of just putting the phone on a counter in the middle of a conversation.

You sit and wait? Really? To be polite on the internet? I think you’re doing it wrong.

I come and go from my computer. I view IM as being one step above email in terms of relaying of messages and proper netiquette. Sure say bye if you want to, but I certainly won’t.

The phone and IM are not the same. When you’re talking on the phone, you have to dedicate most of your attention to listening and thinking and responding. By nature, the computer is not this way, it’s meant to multitask, and that’s what many people do, thus the conversations tend to be more jilted.

If you want to communicate without stopping, call the person up! But I certainly don’t think it’s impolite to not respond immediately to IMs nor is it in any way the same to putting the phone down in a conversation.

I’m not talking impolite. I’m talking logic.

Well then, it’s illogical to expect people to treat a digital text conversation like a vocal conversation.

Do you also say goodbye at the end of text message conversations?

I agree with @dynamicduo…I do not use IM or PM as a real time conversation, nor do I expect that of others. See ya….Gary aka wtf (that is a good bye, tho I will likely return at some point).

@dynamicduo, text messages that come my way are either single answer questions, or end with something like “OK”. I’m talking exchanges that go back and forth then suddenly stop.

@dynamicduo, if you ask me a question HERE, how long will you wait for me to answer?

@whatthefluther, YES, that IS a good bye.

I won’t wait. If I happen to be here on the site, which you can see I am now, I’ll look and answer. Otherwise, I’m doing something else on the computer. We aren’t engaging in the same way as a phone conversation.

Maybe not here, but the PM’s I’m talking about, I am. And, I REALLY have to go. Thanks for the exchange.

Are we talking about instant messaging or fluther? Because I don’t feel like i’m having a conversation on fluther, but I do on msn.

For msn, I agree, we need a dead man’s switch (like on a jet-ski). No never mind that, it would just make people look silly. Besides why invent something to stop people from being rude. I just use the regular stuff like: Be Right Back, Away From Keyboard, and so on.

As for fluther, I don’t think so. Sometimes I start typing away on fluther but I reread the question and realize I totally missed the point, or someone else already gave a better answer. Saying anything else would just go offtopic.

Btw, what about this scenario on msn: Someone else starts talking to you but only responds with smiliefaces. That just makes me want to pull my hair out!

I only do on IM, when I leave I say brb if I’ll be right back, or bye if I’m really leaving. Sometimes a conversation also just bleeds to death (IM’ing is never my main activity), then when I finally turn off my computer I don’t revive those conversations just to say bye.