"Conceptual Research & Reflection"


The mobility of electronic digital data

"Email and similar forms of asynchronous communication carry with them the possibility for rapid, efficient, almost invisible 'multiplication' of the addresses to which communication is being sent. Functions such as carbon copying, forwarding and so on enable the most rapid form of communication 'expansion' - bringing other people into communicative circuits - yet seen. It is very easy, with forward for example, to simply 'pass on' information without processing it or, without processing the dynamics of the communicative relationship between you and the forwardee or without realizing that you are establishing a third relationship - between the original sender and the final recipient.

Moreover, once people begin to use email and realize that information can be copied and forwarded very easily, there is a tendency for this 'mobility of data' to become a cultural given in which, routinely, we include more people within circuits of communication than are necessary; or include them in ways that are inappropriate."

I have found since i got my first computer in 2000 that forwarded emails have become a way people use of letting others know they are still willing to have contact without actual communication. I find this is rather dull and lazy.
A hidden, but non-trivial side effect of forwarding emails is that your email address is likely to be forwarded along with it and will probably end up in a large number of email in-boxes in diverse regions of the planet. Once the forwarded email begins its journey from your computer, to the Rest Of The World, you have absolutely no control over how many times the email gets forwarded and, of course, how many times your private email address gets forwarded right along with it. Your email address is likely to end up, not only in the private in-boxes of complete strangers, but also on mailing lists, news groups, online forums and the hard copy someone printed off to show Great Uncle Vinny. Sooner or later, it is possible, even probable, that your email address will cross the in-box of your friendly neighborhood spammer. Spammers must love emails that have been forwarded a number of times. For them, the dozens of valid addresses that such emails have collected upon their journey through cyberspace must seem an enticing bonus. This is certainly not the only way that spammers get hold of email addresses, but I do believe that it is a significant factor.

Here are the 5 Rules of Forwarding Emails that those who are being truly thoughtful follow. If everyone followed them all the problems associated with forwarded emails could be avoided. Sticking to these guidelines will assist both those thinking they are thoughtful and those who don't want to appear otherwise:

1. Don't forward anything without editing out all the forwarding >>>>, other email addresses, headers and commentary from all the other forwarders. Don't make folks look amongst all the gobbly-gook to see what it is you thought was worth forwarding. If you must forward, only forward the actual "guts" or content of the email that you are of the opinion is valuable. Check out this neato free program to help you out: Email Stripper.
2. If you cannot take the time to write a personal comment at the top of your forwarded email to the person you are sending to - then you shouldn't forward it at all.
3. Think carefully about if what you are forwarding will be of value (accurate information -- check for hoaxes @ Snopes.com), appreciated (something the recipient needs) or humorous (do they have the same sense of humor as you do) to the person on the other side. Or do you just think it is worthy? If you cannot think of why the person you are forwarding to would like to receive the email - then don't forward it. If on company time using company e-mail -- think not twice, but three times if forwarding is worth the risk of your on the job credibility and professionalism being diminished.
4. It should go without saying (But I have to say it because folks do so anyway.) that forwarding of chain letters; regardless how noble the topic may seem, virus warnings or anything that says "forward to everyone you know" simply shouldn't be forwarded because in most cases it is plain old B.S. (again check before forwarding @ Snopes.com). Email is email--there is no chain to break or continue--no cause or effect whether you do or not. Also, the fact is not all commentary will be appreciated by the other side if they have a different viewpoint than you do--be very careful here.
5. If you must forward to more than one person, put your email address in the TO: field and all the others you are sending to in the BCC field to protect their email address from being published to those they do not know. This is a serious privacy issue! Do not perpetuate a breech of privacy started by other forwarders who included their contact's addresses in the To: or Cc: field by continuing to forward those visible addresses to your contacts! Remove any email addresses in the body of the email that have been forwarded by those who brush off the privacy of their friends and associates.

The above 5 rules will help qualify if an email is worth forwarding and the right way to do so if it is. If one cannot make these extra efforts, then they really have no excuse to get mad or have hurt feelings when asked to stop. And if asked to stop forwarding, don't get mad; just realize the person on the other side certainly has the right to make that request.

On an aside, also keep in mind that if you are forwarding a private email that was sent to you, you must get the sender's permission to forward it on to others (or post it publicly). Emails are copyright protected by their authors. Not only that, common courtesy dictates that you should ask the author first if the email sent for your eyes only can be forwarded to strangers or others for which it was not originally intended.

At the end of the day, when it comes to receiving unwanted forwarded emails, if you fear hurting someone's feelings by asking them to stop forwarding you email, know they probably meant well, were really thinking of you, were trying to make a point - ahhh, just hit delete!



Netiquette

"An overwhelming and many-facted aspect of using email and similar asynchronous communication systems over the Internet is 'Netiquette'. Netiquette describes 'good' and 'bad' conduct in online communication (amongst other forms of Internet use). But what is important about Netiquette is the concept that there are these 'agreed' rules of what is good and bad.

Understanding why and now netiquette operates is more than just learning those rules (for, indeed, there are numerous differences and disagreements about the 'rules'). Rather, one must gain from a reading of 'netiquette' a sense that users must themselves contribute to the proper functioning of the Internet as a communication system: that no-one is in 'charge' of the net and we all must exercise an ethic of maintenance, taking responsibility for doing it 'right'. Moreover, what defines 'right' most of all is : 'how would I feel if this action I am about to take was done to me, instead of by me?' and, as a test of whether you are implementing 'right' properly, ask yourself "if I assume the recipient of my messages is less experienced than me, will they learn something 'good' or 'bad' from what I am doing?'"

There are many misconceptions about netiquet. After dealing with bots, trolls, scammers and basic perves i thought it my duty to read up on basic netiquet.

So..WHAT EXACTLY IS "NETIQUETTE"?
Netiquette = Network Etiquette
Email Etiquette and Proper Technology Use

1. Do not type in all caps. Typing in all caps is considered yelling or screaming online. Those who type in all caps are perceived as lazy and not being considerate of those who will have to read their email. Various studies on the topic reflect that it is more difficult and takes longer to read text that is typed in all caps. And for those who question "What studies?" here is one example for your reading pleasure:

http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/~muter/pmuter1.htm

Searching for words is faster with uppercase characters, but reading of continuous text is slower (Vartabedian, 1971), perhaps because interline masking is greater with uppercase (Nes, 1986). In addition, lowercase enhances reading efficiency because word shape is helpful in word recognition (Rudnicky & Kolers, 1984).

One is free, at their convenience, to review the entire document above which goes into detail about how eyes react to what they have to read based on how the content is presented.

Stating certain professions are required to type in all caps (that's the first time I've heard that one) does not jive either. Would you send any off-line communications in all caps - the answer is probably no.

NOTE: It should go without saying, however, since I was chastised for not saying so, this rule certainly doesn't apply to the vision impaired or to those who are disabled or handicapped and cannot use the shift key. However, since typing in all caps is considered yelling online, it would behoove those who do so because of these reasons to take the time to include a brief note why they are typing in caps so that their emails and intent are not misinterpreted.
2. Do not leave the Subject: field blank. Always fill in the Subject: field with a brief and concise description of the content of your email. This is very important in helping those you communicate with organize and manage their email. Important: avoid using all caps or all small case, terms such as Hi, Help or Please Respond, or the recipient's name in the Subject: field as you may be misidentified as a spammer and your email deleted.
3. Refrain from formatting your email with colored text and background colors or images in your day to day communications. If I had $1.00 for every Netizen who emailed me complaining about how they cannot read emails that are formatted (different color text, bolding entire emails, using giganto background images or script fonts), apparently by those who have no color sense or command of HTML, I could retire. Your color and formatting choices can make your emails impossible to read. In addition, formatting could make your emails difficult to reply to without having to go through a procedure to convert your email to plain text first. Many times when folks hit Reply they have to deal with your formatting carrying over to their reply - which makes communicating with you unnecessarily difficult. Why would you expect folks to have to go through having to convert your email just to read and respond to you? The answer: They probably will not! Using large background graphics that take forever to download, especially if you have a phone connection (which is more common than most think once you get outside of metro areas) is plain old naive. If you do feel the uncontrollable need to use any type of formatting in your daily communications, do so sparingly. Please, on behalf of all those who email me, just send your email in plain text!

4. On those rare occasions where it is necessary to send a group of people the very same email, as a courtesy to those you are sending to, please list all of the recipients email addresses in the BCC field. (Blind Carbon Copy - from the old days when typewriters used carbon paper to create identical copies of a document when it was being typed.) When an email address is designated in the Blind Carbon Copy field, the recipient will get a copy of the email while their email address remains invisible and protected from the view of the other recipients of the email - some of whom they may or may not know. Never expose your contact's addresses to strangers! If you are not sure how to BCC in your email program, here are site resources that may help you learn the features of your software programs:
EUDORA NETSCAPE OUTLOOK EXPRESS SAFARI FOR MACS

Long lists of email addresses at the beginning of any email is an immediate sign that the sender is either a novice/Newbie - or doesn't care to respect other's privacy. None of which, as I am sure you'll agree, are complimentary perceptions! Email addresses are like phone numbers. Only the owner of the email address or phone number is the one to authorize who they want to have it and make it public to. Many folks prefer to decide for themselves who has their email address. By sending mass mails to a list of folks, you have made that decision for them - and that is a breach of assumed privacy when communicating with you. Let those you correspond with determine for themselves who they will make their email address known to - do not make that decision for them! By listing handfuls of email addresses in the email headers for all to see is inconsiderate of each recipient's right to privacy.
5. If you are new online, raise your right hand and repeat after me:
1. "I will not forward any dumb joke, "chain letter" or unimportant emails to my friends without their permission."
"I will not forward any dumb joke, "chain letter" or unimportant emails to my friends without their permission."
2. "I understand that by doing so I may fill up their in box, use other's resources unnecessarily and may cause other important email to bounce."
"I understand that by doing so I may fill up their in box, use other's resources unnecessarily and may cause other important email to bounce."
3. "I understand that most folks have seen these emails a million times and find them annoying."
"I understand that most folks have seen these emails a million times and find them annoying."
4. "I know that by forwarding these so-called humorous emails I may offend or tick off people who do not share my sense of humor or who are sick of having stupid emails forwarded to them each time a Newbie hops online."
"I know that by forwarding these so-called humorous emails I may offend or tick off people who do not share my sense of humor or who are sick of having stupid emails forwarded to them each time a Newbie hops online."
There! Now, that wasn't too bad was it? ;-) You will no longer be tempted to forward those jokes, untruthful or frivolous email that instruct you to forward to your friends! And, you will avoid looking silly and uninformed in the process. Read them if you must then hit delete. You really don't believe email that state certain things will happen simply by you forwarding the email to 10 friends do you? Talk about a waste of resources!!

In addition, many of these emails are actually hoaxes or downright bogus. Before you forward an email that appears good intentioned with an incredible story that instructs you to "read and share" with everyone you know, first check Snopes.com to see if the story is even legit in the first place and not a hoax. Not doing so can have you eating crow when everyone you email is informed you just forwarded a hoax and didn't know any better. And, don't get mad at someone if they point out to you that you were uninformed by perpetuating a hoax! If you don't know for a fact that the email you are forwarding is accurate and specifically apropos to the person you are forwarding to and you know they will want to receive it - all you have to do is ask first.

One of the common requests I receive through this site is from folks wanting to know a "nice way" of telling someone they care about to stop sending joke, hoax and chain emails without hurting their feelings. Speaking for those who know you, we have seen those emails before, many times - cut us a break - verify them before you send them to us or just hit delete!
6. Never give out phone numbers or personal information without confirming you are communicating with a reputable party. Never give out personal contact information of others without their specific permission to do so.

7. Make a reasonable effort to search a Web site for the information you are looking for - "Frequently Asked Questions" or "About Us" sections may give you the answers you seek before you waste the site owner's time by emailing for information that is readily available on their site. I get emailed daily for answers that are easily found in my 10 Courtesies or in the Internet 101 section if someone were to make minimal effort. These onliners simply didn't want to take the time to read them so they expected me to take the time to repeat what is on my site. Talk about giving the perception of lazy and not respecting other's time! If a Web site owner takes the time to provide information, read it. No one person's time is more important and common courtesy includes respecting this fact. If you do not find what you are looking for, search for the appropriate contact area for your question. Do not just click on the first email link you come across and blurt out your question(s). If you do, don't be surprised if your email goes unanswered when the information is easily found on the site. It is important to understand the focus of each Web site as well. Each site cannot be everything to everyone or be what you perceive it should be. Be sure to review the information provided to double check that what you seek would even be covered by the site you are visiting.

8. Do not use Return Receipt Request (RR) for each and every email you send because you like "knowing" when someone opens your email. Not only is this annoying to the recipient, this feature is intrusive! How would you like it if every time you heard a voice mail, answering machine message, opened a postal letter from a friend it was immediately reported back to them that you had heard/opened their communications? The recipient should have the privacy to determine when/if they want to open, read and reply - period. RRs should be reserved for those instances where it is critical to each side knowing the email was opened. Such instances would include legal and important business issues. Keep in mind opened doesn't mean read and that the recipient can decline an RR request so you will not be notified of their actions.

9. Understand that you will be on a continual learning curve. All of us are. This gig is changing constantly. The only consistency is change! If you do not have the desire to learn and do not make the effort to understand the "culture" of the technology in which you are participating, you will not be taken seriously by your fellow Netizens. You also may get some terse emails from other onliners pointing such issues out to you - some may not be as nice as others. When this happens, do not fire back at them! Use situations like this as an opportunity to learn what you are doing wrong so you do not anger others and can have a more enjoyable time.

10. If you receive a nasty email - do not respond immediately - if at all. People are very bold and overly critical on the other side of this screen. In my experience they tend to not hesitate to point out the things they think you need improvement on while not even noticing the good or positive points on the very same issue. Many times these folks are simply trying to get a rise out of you (this is called trolling) or are trying to make themselves feel self-important. Sometimes they are just plain jerks. If you do not have something nice or constructive to say, or at the very least sternly professional - just hit delete.

11. Keep in mind that all private email is considered to be copyrighted by the original author. If you post private email to a public list or board, or forward it to an outside party in whole or in part, you must include the author's permission to post the material publicly. Not doing so can get you into some deep doo-doo legally or with your friends and associates. Think of it this way... how would you feel if a personal private email that you had written for a specific purpose/person is then plastered across the Internet or forwarded to folks you do not know? Always ask for permission before forwarding or posting any private emails!

12. Always minimize, compress or "zip" large files before sending. Many folks new to the online world do not realize how large documents, graphics or photo files are. Guess what? They are large enough to fill someone's email box and cause their other mail to bounce! Get in the habit of compressing anything over 200,000 bytes (200K). (You can view file sizes in Windows Explorer. Simply right click on the file name and choose properties.) There are several types of file compression software available for these purposes. Do not send unannounced large attachments to others because you think that photo or file is cute or cool or neat. Always ask first! More importantly when sending business files by email, do so only during business hours, always compress and send at a prearranged time!

Many onliners still have to wait up to 30 minutes or more to open overly large files due to their connection speed. Those online not too far outside of metropolitan areas do not have cable or DSL connections, they are on dial-ups - many only @ 28.8K! If you do not know how to compress files, then you need to learn how to make them physically smaller with graphic software. Those are your two choices; compressing or minimizing. You really need to be aware of and practice one or the other. Minimizing a photo or graphic's physical size to no larger than 600 pixels in width will make them emailable. Most photos right off your camera are 1,000 pixels plus in width which makes for a very, very large file size. Nothing need be larger than 600 pixels to view anyway. Or you could be really courteous and learn how to use the free Web space offered by your ISP to upload photos and simply send the link to friends and family to view. If you do not know how to do any of these things all you have to do is learn! [Great Resource: HTML Programming Cheat Sheets]

To send large files that take a long time to download that may not respect the other person's time, reflect their sense of humor or point of view and may even max out their email box is pretty inconsiderate and downright lazy.

13. Do not forward virus warnings! Virus warnings received from others are generally always hoaxes. [Great Resource: Symantec's Virus Hoax Page] Especially if an email tells you to forward to everyone you know--don't!! Delete those emails and do not forward them! Definitely ignore those forwarded emails instructing you to delete files on your computer - they could be critical files that your computer needs to operate. Only warn friends if you know that your computer has a virus that you inadvertently may have passed on to them. Rely only on your virus software and your software provider's Web site for the real scoop. If you get one of these wacky emails from a friend or associate, go to your virus software provider's site and search for the virus name in question to confirm if it is accurate information or if it is a hoax. When you find it to be a hoax, let the person who forwarded it to you know that they are perpetrating misinformation and unintentionally alarming others. Read what your Virus Software provider has to say before you unnecessarily alarm folks and in the process end up looking rather silly to say the least. There are many urban legends purely in existence to watch all the Newbies screw up their computer's configuration files or forward the fake email to "everyone they know" while looking rather foolish in the process. You know what they say... There's a Newbie born every minute! ;-)

With the advancement of technology, it is possible to get a virus without even opening an email. That ended with W32.Nimda.A@mm in September/2001 that merely required you click on the subject of the email in your email program or for those that use Outlook Express have your program set to preview. HINT: Turn Previewing Off! Nimda also propagated itself by taking advantage of bugs in Microsoft servers to plant itself on the server and then transfer itself to those who visited the Web sites on that server using Internet Explorer (yes, IE is buggy too) as their browser. (That's why I use Eudora for email and FireFox as my browser!)

Several of the latest viruses actually use email addressed farmed out of your address book or inbox to send the virus and propagate itself to all those listed with your name in the From: field. The latest viruses can send out the virus with your friend's names in the From: field or any combination of email addresses found on your system! Yikes! It is clear... The need for a 24/7 real-time virus protection software is no longer a choice - it is your responsibility to remain virus free. You will also need to update your virus files regularly. Check for updates every time you log on so that your computer is protected from the latest releases or use the automatic update feature of your virus software.

Basics for virus protection:
* Get an active program that is always "ON". This will catch any viruses as they are being downloaded so they can immediately be quarantined and cannot infect your system.
* Update your virus patterns daily or every time you log on. These updates can be downloaded from the Web site of your virus software manufacturer. Most software has a scheduler to tell your computer to do this automatically - how convenient! You need to ensure your system is protected from the latest viruses which may have just been discovered since last you were online. New viruses are identified daily!
* Never click on any attachment or an .exe (example: Happy99.exe, free stuff, click here or ILOVEYOU) file attached within an email without making sure the attachment has been checked for viruses. Even if the email appears to come from someone you know very well! The attachment may be virus generated and plucked your friend's email address off another infected computer belonging to someone they communicated with. Or your friend may unknowingly be infected and not aware of the virus on their system which has just spawned an email that has their name on it and is addressed to you. The email may look like it is from your friend just to get you to open it when in fact it is an email generated by a virus.



Communication is not complete upon receipt

"A major disadvantage of email and similar asynchronous communications systems is that, often or sometimes, human users assume that when a message has been received, then it is automatically going to be acted upon or read or similar processed by the human(s) to which it was sent. While computers are very good at automatically processing information, humans are not."

I have found this to be very true. There have been times when i have have been sent emails requesting myself to log into my chat program and after looking at the time stamps, no more then 15 minutes later be scolded because i have not done as requested. I doesn't matter if i was not there to receive the email, It only matters to the person wanting to contact me. If a person wanted to make sure a text/email was read, there is a "read receipt" system attached to the most common email clients. Although, this does not guarantee that the reader has payed attention to the text, only that the text has been opened.


A clear example:

"If you've been waiting for internet legal visionary Lawrence Lessig to reply to your e-mail, forget about it.

In a script-driven note sent out last week, Lessig wrote: "Dear person who sent me a yet-unanswered e-mail, I apologize, but I am declaring e-mail bankruptcy."

He went on to note that he had spent 80 hours the prior week sorting through unanswered e-mail built up since January 2002, and had determined that "without extraordinary effort" he would simply never be able to respond to these messages."

With the amount of spam and forwarded junk im not surprised there is alot of delay in answering emails. I believe that this is where net etiquette is required.
People must understand that with new technology comes more freedoms for people to get away from the computers (and im sure they want too). Senders must understand that not everyone is sitting at their computer 20 hours of the day just waiting for that email.

The impact of text-based real-time chat

"You might think that, with the widespread availability of telephones, an internet-based system of real-time communication involving the typing of text messages would be hardly used, or at least, of little relevance. You would be wrong. Real-time internet-based text chat is a significant part of contemporary internet use. The question then to be asked is: what is the difference here that makes this mode of communication popular; and then what impact does it have of the kinds of communication and social interaction that take place?

Setting aside cost the main differences are

1. that you can imagine yourself with others in a public space
2. that your use of text provides a different form of communication, more 'fictive', more controlled, and still very expressive, but also one that enables you to monitor and reflect on the forms and meanings of communication, including your own
3. you can have multiple conversations without apparently being rude (including both public and private ones)"

Instant messaging (IM) is a form of real-time communication between two or more people based on typed text. The text is conveyed via computers connected over a network such as the Internet.
Messaging programs that uses peer-to-peer networking over the Internet to let users send messages instantly to people on a buddy list. As well as allowing text to be sent, IM enables voice chat, videoconferencing, SMS (short message service) paging, and shared access to documents, files, and pictures.The first instant messaging program was ICQ, released in November 1996, and bought in June 1998 by America Online, which had already launched its own IM service in May 1997. Yahoo launched a service in 1998 and Microsoft in 1999. These IM services are normally incompatible, but a program called Trillian allows users to chat to friends on all of them concurrently.

The popular embrace of IM technology for sharing information has quickly led to organizations adopting IM solutions for the perceived advantages that can be brought by it. As organizations are becoming more information based (McNurlin & Sprague, 2006, p.499) the need for effective knowledge sharing, team working and collaborative environments amongst employees has become vital, especially within more geographically dispersed teams.

Typically, IM conversations tend to have a certain "character"; they are often short and only cover one topic. Media-switching and multitasking are common throughout, however IM might also be used between established coworkers and friends for longer, more intermittent conversation. In their report of IM use at the workplace Nardi et al. (2000) identifies the four primary functions of IM which are often cited in other reports, These primary functions are:

• Quick questions and clarifications
• Coordinating and scheduling tasks
• Coordinating impromptu social meetings
• Keeping in touch with friends and family

IM is perhaps best suited to "Quick questions and clarifications" as this is the most often mentioned attribute in other reports. A user can "respond rapidly without the overhead of telephone or FTF interaction. For example, IDC reports, "Users see IM as a medium for quick, semi-permanent ‘flashes’ that beg a near-immediate response" (Isaacs et al., 2002). Nardi's second and third observations are enabled in part due to the "Presence Awareness" feature of IM clients in which the user knows who is "available". This is the most relevant for colleagues who share the same physical space as each other and even paves the way for other mediums to take up the task of communication e.g. F2F or Phone. The implication is that viable communication of any sort can in someway be encouraged through IM's "Presence Awareness" feature. (Issacs et al, 2002) supports this view, "IM in business might not be the main tool for of communication, it could just be the meeting point for another type of media e.g. conference calls.

Nardi's third and fourth observations focus on the social use of IM, which have also been widely publicized in other report. That IM is used for keeping in touch with friends and arranging social events has led some employers to believe that it is used primarily for this purpose. According to (Issacs et al, 2002) a market study found that "'Fear of losing employee productivity’ was the greatest concern of businesses in regards to instant messaging".

The study by (Issacs et al, 2002) goes on to suggest this fear is unfounded as it was found that on average "only 13% of conversations contained personal topics", and "only 6.4% were exclusively personal".

A study published in 2008 in the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication by Garrett and Danziger found that workers who used instant messaging on the job reported less interruption than colleagues who did not.^[5] Research showed that instant messaging was often used as a substitute for other, more disruptive forms of communication such as the telephone, e-mail, and face-to-face conversations. They found that the conversations were briefer between co-workers when using instant messaging than with the other forms of communications. Because of its unique setup, instant messaging allows users to control how and when they communicate with their coworkers. This technology gives people the ability to flag their availability or postpone responses to a more convenient time, according to one of the researchers.^[6] The study also notes that the ability to manage interruptions is most clear with the modality of text-based IM, and that such benefits are less likely with VOIP- or videoconference-based IM.

Although instant messaging delivers many benefits, it also carries with it certain risks and liabilities, particularly when used in workplaces. Among these risks and liabilities are:

• Security risks (e.g. IM used to infect computers with spyware, viruses, trojans, worms)
• Compliance risks
• Inappropriate use
• Intellectual property leakage

Crackers (malicious "hacker" or black hat hacker) have consistently used IM networks as vectors for delivering phishing attempts, "poison URL's", and virus-laden file attachments from 2004 to the present, with over 1100 discrete attacks listed by the IM Security Center^[7] in 2004-2007. Hackers use two methods of delivering malicious code through IM: delivery of virus, trojan, or spyware within an infected file, and the use of "socially engineered" text with a web address that entices the recipient to click on a URL that connects him or her to a website that then downloads malicious code. Viruses, worms, and trojans typically propagate by sending themselves rapidly through the infected user's buddy list. An effective attack using a poison URL may reach tens of thousands of people in minutes when each person's buddy list receives messages appearing to be from a trusted friend. The recipients click on the web address, and the entire cycle starts again. Infections may range from nuisance to criminal, and are becoming more sophisticated each year.

In addition to the malicious code threat, the use of instant messaging at work also creates a risk of non-compliance to laws and regulations governing the use of electronic communications in businesses. In the United States alone there are over 10,000 laws and regulations related to electronic messaging and records retention.^[8] The more well-known of these include the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPAA, and SEC 17a-3. Clarification from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") was issued to member firms in the financial services industry in December, 2007, noting that "electronic communications", "email", and "electronic correspondence" may be used interchangeably and can include such forms of electronic messaging as instant messaging and text messaging.^[9] Changes to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, effective December 1, 2006, created a new category for electronic records which may be requested during discovery (law) in legal proceedings. Most countries around the world also regulate the use of electronic messaging and electronic records retention in similar fashion to the United States. The most common regulations related to IM at work involve the need to produce archived business communications to satisfy government or judicial requests under law. Many instant messaging communications fall into the category of business communications that must be archived and retrievable.

Organizations of all types must protect themselves from the liability of their employees' inappropriate use of IM. The informal, immediate, and ostensibly anonymous nature of instant messaging makes it a candidate for abuse in the workplace. The topic of inappropriate IM use became front page news in October 2006 when Congressman Mark Foley resigned his seat after admitting sending offensive instant messages of a sexual nature to underage former House pages from his Congressional office PC. The Mark Foley Scandal led to media coverage and mainstream newspaper articles warning of the risks of inappropriate IM use in workplaces. In most countries, corporations have a legal responsibility to ensure harassment-free work environment for employees. The use of corporate-owned computers, networks, and software to harass an individual or spread inappropriate jokes or language creates a liability for not only the offender but also the employer. A survey by IM archiving and security provider Akonix Systems, Inc. in March 2007 showed that 31% of respondents had been harassed over IM at work.^[10] Companies now include instant messaging as an integral component of their policies on appropriate use of the World Wide Web, e-mail, and other corporate assets.

Within the company there is also the risk of employees using instant messaging to release confidential information and project details to an outside source. This issue is best controlled by a combination of written policy and technology. An organization's policies on use of IM in the workplace should be an integral part of the overall computing and network use policies, and should be published and communicated at least annually. In addition to written policy, organizations should implement "gateways" or IM security products to monitor content of inbound and outbound messages. Products from IM security providers (See section on IM security) typically allow administrators to set alerts and enforce policy (i.e. allow or block messages) based on keywords and regular expressions within instant messages.

Netiquette:
Judith Kallos is an authoritative and good-humored Technology Muse who has played @ www.TheIStudio.com for over a decade. Check out her popular E-mail Etiquette Web Site, Books and Free Tools @: www.NetManners.com.

Instant Messaging:

1. The Free Encyclopedia
2. wikipedia