1 Nah, the spim thing is only a problem until a user finds the "only accept messages from people on my buddy list" option that exists in all major IM clients.

2 I quit using AIM because of the spimming a few years back. I know there's a privacy setting, but then I started getting messages via e-mail (I was an AOHell customer back then) saying that they tried to IM me. Then you get the whole, "I'd like to chat -- come look at my profile!" and then you'd see boobs and their little weasely dicks. No thanks! I canceled AOHell and now just deal with the pallets of spam that webhosts must suffer with.

I'm not bitter. No, not me!

3 I found it, Mad Bill!
And, Dawn...I've never heard of it before... I do use YIM to talk/type/blab to Mad Bill and another computer genius, without whom, my computer woulda either killed itself or me months ago. (Hi ya, Paul!!!)(Matter of fact, we have an open IM box right now. Paul just popped up, said Hi and, apparently, walked away from the pooter for a minute...lmao)
And, I agree with you completely....I, too, despise AOHell. I've not had an ad for porno or Viagra show up in an IM box, yet. Someone, somewhere, is reeeeally gonna regret it the day I do, too. (I'm laughing now...I doubt I will be then, tho...)
It's cool, though, in one way. I finally have to admit, thanks to spam, spim, hackers viruses, worms, et al....that life really isn't the most meaningless thing that can happen to a person...rotfl. By comparison, spam and all that shit,] makes life look like it (almost) makes sense, which we all know it doesn't.
Now when I shriek "What IS the point?" it could be life...it could be computer-related turd-burglers.
(I gotta go see what happened to Paul...still no second message yet....sigh...men.)

4 From reading your blog and many of your blog-roll buddies, I must say this high-class study
seems to be out in left field.( Of course, it may indicate that you're all on the nut fringe of computer users..) I very seldom read anyone on your blog roll (or any of theirs-sometimes I get so far out following references to so and so's blog, it takes me about twenty back-ups to return to YOUR blog..)who goes more than a day without
without a new addition of the day.

Hmmmm, I just decided y'all ARE on the nut fringe... What does that make me? I'm readin'
the danged things every day...

5 lmao....