Geeks typically prefer IRC over IM protocols like Jabber or AIM, because it’s better for topic-based chat (i.e., channels). But for point-to-point communication, IM protocols like AIM and Jabber are superior.

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Timestamps on IM status. e.g., your friends can see that you set your status to “Out to lunch” 5 minutes ago, and so are not likely to be available in the next hour; or that you set it an hour ago, so you’ll probably be back soon.

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