I just had the following IM conversation. (Other person’s IM name withheld)
[07:34] xxxxxxxxxxxx: Good Morning
[07:37] msauers: Sorry, not recognizing your IM name…
[07:37] xxxxxxxxxxxx: It’s me DEBBIE
[07:38] xxxxxxxxxxxx: you know your sis in law
[07:38] msauers: Sorry, you’ve got the wrong person.
[07:38] xxxxxxxxxxxx: who is this?
[07:38] msauers: Michael Sauers, Aurora, CO
[07:38] xxxxxxxxxxxx: oh sorry
[07:38] msauers: no problem
[07:39] xxxxxxxxxxxx: have a great day
[07:39] msauers: you too
I’m not sure what the moral is here but I do find it polite to assume that someone contacting you via IM is not a spammer. You can always block them if they are. Also, I wonder how many other “msauers” there are out there. I’ve been using that username for more than ten years now so it’s not often I’m confused for someone else.
Michael Sauers is the Director of Logan Library in Logan, UT. Prior to this he was one of the founding staff and Technology Manager for Do Space in Omaha, NE. After earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany's School of Information Science and Policy Michael spent his first 20 years as a librarian training other librarians in technology along with time as a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, a technology consultant, and a bookseller. He has written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and has published 14 books ranging from library technology, blogging, Web design, and an index to a popular horror magazine. In his spare time, he blogs at TravelinLibrarian.info, runs The Collector's Guide to Dean Koontz website at CollectingKoontz.com, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
Unless otherwise stated, all opinions are my own and are not to be considered those of the City of Logan, UT.
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