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> The whole point of IM is to have synchronous realtime communication. No. That's one capability. But the whole point of IM is to have online communication. Re

> The whole point of IM is to have synchronous realtime communication. No. That's one capability. But the whole point of IM is to have online communication. Realtime is one possible aspect. I very much prefer asynchronous communication even in IM. If I want synchronous communication then... call or use voice chat.

chasd00 4y ago
The “I” in IM means instant. It was meant to be synchronous because email was too asynchronous.
- inetknght 4y ago
  Instant does not mean synchronous.
  - signatoremo 4y ago
    Instant does mean synchronous, as in instantly, immediately. And that is because when it was invented asynchronous communication is by default, as users cannot afford to be online all the time. So instant is the feature. You may argue it has changed, but it is false to dispute the original intent.
    - inetknght 4y ago
      No, synchronous means synchronous. Instant means instantly, sure. But that does not mean synchronous. You can send an instant message. That's instant. It does not mean the recipient must, or even should feel that they must, reply immediately. You won't know if the other person has read your message and decided to reply or not. That's not synchronous at all. A voice conversation, on the other hand, is synchronous. You know when the other person has decided to leave the conversation or simply to not reply. That is synchronous. > You may argue it has changed, but it is false to dispute the original intent. I am not arguing it has changed. I am stating that it simply isn't what you claim it to be. That might be how you use it but that doesn't mean that everyone should feel obligated to.
      - auggierose 4y ago
        You can also send an email instantly. So, obviously, in this context instant means synchronous, and not just immediately, otherwise there would be no point to put it into the name as a differentiating factor compared to email.
        Izkata 4y ago
        Nowadays it's usually instant, but back when I first got online and me and my friends used AIM, email would often take several minutes and occasionally hours to arrive.
cortesoft 4y ago
Calling is not the best most of communication for a lot of synchronous use cases. Talking about code is easier with chat, so you can copy and paste, and also keep history of what was talked about. Also, voice calls are not always easy to do when you have other people around or are in a noisier environment.

chasd00 4y ago

The “I” in IM means instant. It was meant to be synchronous because email was too asynchronous.

inetknght 4y ago
Instant does not mean synchronous.
- signatoremo 4y ago
  Instant does mean synchronous, as in instantly, immediately. And that is because when it was invented asynchronous communication is by default, as users cannot afford to be online all the time. So instant is the feature. You may argue it has changed, but it is false to dispute the original intent.
  - inetknght 4y ago
    No, synchronous means synchronous. Instant means instantly, sure. But that does not mean synchronous. You can send an instant message. That's instant. It does not mean the recipient must, or even should feel that they must, reply immediately. You won't know if the other person has read your message and decided to reply or not. That's not synchronous at all. A voice conversation, on the other hand, is synchronous. You know when the other person has decided to leave the conversation or simply to not reply. That is synchronous. > You may argue it has changed, but it is false to dispute the original intent. I am not arguing it has changed. I am stating that it simply isn't what you claim it to be. That might be how you use it but that doesn't mean that everyone should feel obligated to.
    - auggierose 4y ago
      You can also send an email instantly. So, obviously, in this context instant means synchronous, and not just immediately, otherwise there would be no point to put it into the name as a differentiating factor compared to email.
      - Izkata 4y ago
        Nowadays it's usually instant, but back when I first got online and me and my friends used AIM, email would often take several minutes and occasionally hours to arrive.

cortesoft 4y ago

Calling is not the best most of communication for a lot of synchronous use cases. Talking about code is easier with chat, so you can copy and paste, and also keep history of what was talked about. Also, voice calls are not always easy to do when you have other people around or are in a noisier environment.