Wow, I used to IM all the time in middle school. I guess I just grew out of it when I realized how time-consuming it was. After reading those articles I'm happy to hear that IM-ing is becoming more productive.
As far as my reaction to the vbpl chat goes... I found it to be extremely convenient to enter a quick question rather than search the whole site/help page, hoping to find an answer. I was also happy to find that the response came in a matter of moments.
That's all for now...
