Talking to people on aim is such a different social situation. There are people you talk to for the purposes of exchanging information–your classmate where you ask directed questions such as \”what did the prof say today in lecture?\” and you \”fade\” away after a minute of talking. Then there are the friends you talk to on a regular basis–they understand your online habits as you might have an 8 hour conversation with long pauses in between, the disappearances, the bursts of true conversation. Then there are the immature ones that command your attention–you have to listen to them or they get insulted, you have to show that you\’re listening and understanding, and to disappear is a very bad faux pas, then you have to deal with them with constant away msgs.

I have the limit of people on my aim list (200). Yet, I barely talk to the majority of them. I get this sense of comfort when I sign online. I don\’t need to im everyone. It\’s the fact that I know that someone is available to talk to is a comforting thought itself. Seeing people\’s presence almost like in an ambient display is just like that. Even with \”silence\”–nobody iming you–is pleasing to me.