My first pit. I hate hate hate hate hate workplaces that flat out ban MSN messengers from running. I’m in one of them right now. It’s installed but blocked, I tried MSN web messenger and it’s blocked, I tried a USB-drive version I carry and it’s also blocked. You og-damned admins that decided people communicating is the internet’s rotten rotten gift should all stick it where the sun don’t shine. If I worked at a place like this I would have to be seriously compensated for the lack of connectivity. God damn. I think I’ll just make an effort to spend all the time I should be working in SDMB or something just to get even. Or figuring out a way to get an alternative messenger running.
Wow, I feel so much better :)
wheeee for the pit!
What the fuck? Why would you need messenger at work? You don’t need to be chittering away at people all day, use the phone like everybody else.
Do you have a legitimate reason for wanting instant messaging service at work?
It may be banned for reasons other than the company worrying about you wasting work time. Some companies (mine is one) need to maintain records of certain written communications for compliance reasons. It’s hard to do that with instant messaging service. We’ve got an internal service starting up in the next few months, but they haven’t worked all the bugs out of it yet.
I can’t think of one reason why any workplace would need employees to use MSN, please enlighten me.
I am a network admin who bans Messenger. Why should I allow a program with nearly no business use that is a possible virus vector?
Hmmm. . . there’s a word for that. What was it? Lessee now . . . Oh! I got it!
“Theft”.
Our company has installed MSN Messenger on a dedicated server to allow IM’s between employee’s only. They use the accounts from the email server. Instead of calling or emailing coworkers about every little trivial thing, we can IM them. It’s cheaper, and still secure because it is run on an internal system without access to the internet at large.
Our company does the same as Madd Maxx’s.
You bunch are going to make me change my mind on my first pit :). Oh well…
Isn’t there anyone out there who can speak on behalf of us messenger lovers?
But if was a boss, I could definitely see myself going on the same root. Hmm… But… There must be a way to keep employees disctractions to a minimum but still allow MSN. I want to be connectable, everybody does…
No. Get back to work.
Messenger loving is one thing, but to echo an earlier post and kind of paraphrase another - unless your workplace has messengers in place to allow inter-departmental communications to go through, why would you need one that much at work?
Lots of workplaces will ban messengers for a reason. That is usually security and or legal reasons. If you want to messengerate with someone and it’s banned in the work place, then stow it until you’re on your own time.
Not an issue at my current job, but at an old one where we were spaced out over five floors of office space, Messenger (or Yahoo or something) was installed so people could send quick messages for answers to relatively simple questions quickly.
We allow Messenger at our workplace. We also have an IRC server. We mostly use this to allow multiple engineers in a channel to talk about problems they’re seeing on the network and such. It’s a place for everyone to kick around ideas.
I do understand companies that block it though. We don’t abuse our system, but a lot of people would.
Stupidity?
And messenger provides a different ‘timescale’ from using the phone – it doesn’t require immediate attention and can often be more ‘to the point’ then a voice conversation. It also has a bigger range of auto-responses than e-mail, so you can instantly see the likelyhood of getting a response to your enquiry. With e-mail it’s fire and forget.
I believe the people should be given the a wide range of different communication avenues (both for internal and external use) and be taught hope to use them efficently. So you’re using the best method for each task.
Sadly instant messaging services are often abused, particularly in the workplace, and I can understand why they’re banned. That’s without even considering the security implications. You can get round these problems, but it’s easier to ban the services.
It’s sad that we live in a world with a huge number of different ways of doing ‘rich’ communications but are often restricted from using them, I’ve always thought a little effort could make things so much easier for so many people.
I’ll stop before I have to find my soapbox.
SD
Messenger can have valid uses: when I was a consultant I used a messenger tool to talk to other consultants on other projects. Sometimes I would walk them through something, sometimes they would walk me through something. That’s still true now that I have a more stable job.
We all use MSN at work to communicate with each other: we have offices in different cities, partner companies that we need to communicate with, and a lot of us telework. It’s far easier and less intrusive than using the phone. It means that other clients and business associates can call, because our phones aren’t blocked. It’s cheaper. It’s faster than email. It means we can post links to one another (we’re a web company) conveniently
At my work, employees use IM to communicate with each other for all the pro-IM reasons noted above.
It’s also a godsend for me, since the services we use are all internal. That means that I don’t have to worry about security issues when trying to call up a coworker about a work issue. (For me, using the phone means going through an external TTY relay service, which has its own set of problems)
I’m with the OP: If I’m horny, and wanna get off at work, why should I have to relieve the pressure in the washroom? What’s up with these kill joy employers and their geeky network administration accomplices telling me I can’t flick on the old webcam during my lunch hour and bustin a nut? :eek:
We’ve got an internal corporate ICQ server for the dozen employees here. Very nice for quick questions that you can handle when you have a moment.
When I did tech support for Microsoft, we used Messenger. That way you and your friend could give each other quick tips, reach your manager if need be, etc.
Of course, if you’re not doing business stuff with it, I can totally see the reason to prevent its use.