44. Manage Your IM Contacts  BEFORE YOU BEGIN 43 Set Up Instant Messaging
 SEE ALSO 45 Carry On an IM Conversation
44. Manage Your IM Contacts 
Just as you have a circle of family, friends , and business acquaintances with whom you carry on conversations in the real world, you also have a list of contacts that form the basis for instant messaging conversations in the virtual world. In fact, your IM contact list is critical for instant messaging because it not only provides you with a list of people to whom you can send messages, but also provides a means of finding out whether those people are available for chatting. Unlike email, which is sent with no regard for a person's availability, instant messages are typically sent only when you know a person is available and willing to respond in a short amount of time. The immediacy of instant messaging is what makes it so useful. Assembling a list of contacts is therefore a critical part of the instant messaging equation. To add people to your IM buddy (contact) list, just find out from them what their usernames are on the IM service you plan on using. | 1. | Sign In to an Instant Messaging Service Launch the desired IM client for the IM service you want to use and sign in to the service. See 43 Set Up Instant Messaging if you haven't already set up an IM account on your device. NOTE If you use an IM service other than Yahoo! Messenger, the exact steps for creating and deleting contacts might vary a bit from those listed in this task. Even so, the general approach will likely be very similar. | | 2. | Create a New Contact
The contact list is the main screen in every IM client and is the place where you add new contacts. To add a new contact in Yahoo! Messenger, click the trackwheel, select Add Contact from the menu that appears, and click once more. The Add Contact screen appears and prompts you to enter the contact's user ID.
| | 3. | Enter the Contact's User ID The Add Contact screen prompts you to enter the user ID for the contact, which in this case is the Yahoo! ID for the contact. Enter the contact's user ID; then click the trackwheel and select OK from the menu that appears. Click the trackwheel once more to add the contact to your contact list and view his current IM status. Keep in mind that people are allowed to reject their addition to your contact list; this helps IM participants prevent unwanted instant messages from people they don't know. If you're adding someone who knows you as a contact, this shouldn't be a problem. NOTE Every IM client is a little different, and some might not follow the exact process outlined here. For example, in AOL Instant Messenger, you are asked whether you want to accept an IM message, not whether you want to accept being added to someone's contact list. Either way, accepting or declining a contact list addition or an IM message is as simple as saying yes or no . And keep in mind that you'll see the username of who is on the other end, so you should be able to tell immediately whether it is someone you know. After adding a new contact, you return to the main contact list, where you might also choose to delete a contact you no longer need. | | 4. | Delete an Existing Contact
To delete an existing contact from the contact list in Yahoo! Messenger, scroll to select the contact, click the trackwheel, select Delete Contact from the menu that appears, and click once more. The Delete Contact screen appears.
| | 5. | Confirm the Deletion
You confirm the deletion of a contact by scrolling to select OK on the Delete Contact screen, clicking the trackwheel, choosing Select from the menu, and clicking again; you can also double-click the trackwheel quickly. If you change your mind about deleting the contact, just select Back instead of OK on the Delete Contact screen.
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