Someone IM'd me who I don't know....

... can I IM them back without offering and them accepting friendship first? Can I send the message to them while they're offline for them to pick up when online again?

Cheers,

Squirrel

yes

yes

how to find "who" is another matter entirely. do you have "log all chats" set up in your preferences?

if you have nto logged out of SL since the IM came in, you can open your general chat log and see who it was, in there.

You don't have to have people on your friends list to IM them or receive IMs and yes you can send messages while they are offline.

Just bring up their profile and select Instant Message.

Squirrel, that may have been me - another posting of yours indicated you were 'stuck', if I recall correctly, so I sent you an IM from inworld to see if you still needed help.

But yes, if someone sends you an IM, just reply - no friendship or other pre-arrangements required.

Good luck!

If in future you get IM's from someoneyou don't know and the messages are unpleasant or annoying, you can mute the sender and then they can no longer send you any IM's.

...but if someone drops their calling card, DON'T PICK IT UP!


tee hee

About this, someone sent me a friendship request, which of course I don't accept by default, and when I was trying to search for the person, he didnt exist! How is it possible?

Just confirms my way of doing this, trying to keep it safe.

The person might have been banned for some reason or another. Which might include spamming friendship requests...

That also happened to me the other day. I got the request as soon as I logged in at my skybox, as if it'd been sent when I was offline. Did the last name begin with X by any chance? Using Person search couldn't find the name but All search did, iirc.

Perhaps he's spammed everyone somehow as I'd neither seen or heard of the guy before.

--
Aes

if you chose to mute someone on their profile to stop hearing from them, does that person know they have been muted by you?

alternatively if u delete someone from your friends list to stop them IM'ing, does that person know they are not on your friends list anymore?

it would be nice to know that the person you are trying to ignore doesn't know u r on-line, but i suppose if i am still on their friends list they'll know anyway?

thanks and apologise if everyone says durrr that is so obvious......lol

1. No. However, they can make a pretty good guess if they try to send you notes or other inventory repeatedly and it comes back "Declined".

2. You can find out if someone is on line whether or not they are in your Friends list. For example, you can check one of their Groups and see if that member is shown as on line. Or you can send them an IM. If the IM doesn't come back "User is offline", then they know you are on, whether you reply or not.

3. A person removed from your friends list may not know that...but they will probably notice after a while that you don't seem to be on line very much, and ask you about it. [EDIT: They may also notice that you aren't on their list any more, too]

The Friends list is not a privacy screen. It's more a tool to facilitate communication with people you know and like and deal with often.

There is NO way to hide your on line status that is completely effective, except to create an alternate user account and log in with that name and password.

No -- or rather, they are not notified that you have muted them.

Yes, when you drop them from your list you are removed from theirs so it is pretty apparent that they have been dropped.

If you drop them from your friends list you will be removed from theirs as well. There is a check mark that will enable/disable them seeing you online but as wth most things there are other ways to see whether or not you are online.

I have a hard time comming up with a reason to have someone both muted and remain on the friends list, but I guess you have your reasons.

Wouldn't that be for those times when your spouse ticks you off and you just don't want to listen to them for a while?

thanks for that guys...I was trying to decide, which was the better option from point of being at least civil....... whether to drop from friends list or mute them on their profile............understand either way they will find out eventually.

Sometimes its best to at least keep some lines of comminication open when dealing with people.

Interestingly, just after I'd read this thread, I signed into SL a bit later and was immediately sent an IM from someone I'd never heard of who's name did indeed begin with x.

The IM simply said "Hi." I did not respond but kept the window open in case he/she said anything else.

A check in search showed this particular person with a join date in 2007. Very odd indeed.

I always respond when someone IMs.. Did today, and am very pleased at the outcome even though it had been meant for someone else.

They can't bite.. most they can do is talk, and you can mute them.

Well, there's the difference between us

If someone I have no earthly clue who they are IM's with nothing more than "Hi", rather than "Hi, I'm so and so and met you once at...." or "Hi, I have a question..." or ANYTHING more than just "Hi" I would answer.

Especially after just having read this thread with unknown IM's from someone who's name began with x, I was curious to see if they'd say anything else.

Some people are shy. They may have thought you had an attractive ava, or an interesting profile, but were unsure how to stir up conversation. For some folks, "Hi" is really sticking their neck out.

I get the "Hi" IM every so often, and I always respond back, even if it's just another "Hi". It costs nothing to be friendly.

Perhaps, if I'd been in a public place, but I was at home.

I think I'm entering Curmudgeon state...lol.

...unless you're also shy.

Shy, or conversationally illiterate? How difficult is it in those circumstances to say "I think your avatar is attractive" or "I find your profile interesting"?



I generally respond " 'lo " and if they don't get the joke (weak as it is, it sorts the sheep from the goats) then it's goodbye . . .



Except time; for some maybe it isn't that valuable.

Pep (Doesn't open emails saying "I love you" either)