Don't say hello

I don't respond to IMs that begin with a simple "hi" or "hello" or "good morning." Well, I do when those salutations are from the four or five people within my tightest inner circle. This doesn't mean that I don't like or don't want to hear from folks, and there are a number of people I love hearing from... but if you have been in Second Life® a while, and if you interact with a lot of people, you will have accrued a friends list that is so long that you have no idea how many people are there. All the IMs get to be too much, you know?

On the other hand, I appreciate it when people take the time to write me a nice fat IM in which they say hello and they tell me why they are contacting me, giving me all the particulars... all in that same opening IM. That's good stuff.

A notecard is even better!

Nowadays, I like it even more when people send me an email. That way, they aren't interrupting my conversations or my train of thought, but they are still giving me an opportunity to prepare a thoughtful response.

I see this as plain good manners.

If you are new to Second Life, then you probably don't understand this yet, but if you have ever been hit by ten IMs within the span of two minutes, then it is my guess that you will be able to relate to this. For me, managing how I communicate with others has become a matter of utmost importance.

I don't want to "hide" from you. I want my friends to be able to see when I am in world, but I really have gotten to the point where social chatter is not what I do. I know, I know... how antisocial of me! Why would I want a Second Life then?

Ah, that's the subject of another blogpost.

What do you think, and how do you handle this?