How do you deal with random messages/email/internet contact?

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Do you get random ICQ, AIM or other chat messages? How do you deal with them? Are you witty at their expense? Are you cutting? Do you just ignore them?

Or have you had some really good conversations that started by accident?

Share your net stories, good and bad. :)

-- Lisa (lanichols@yahoo.com), November 19, 1999

Answers

Last year I had my ICQ UIN on my homepage. I was amazed how many people added me to their chat lists. I had several conversations that were slightly interesting, however once I made it plain that I was not going to have cybersex or meet them in real time, they didn't message me anymore. After several months of having "u r sexy" messages, I decided to take off my ICQ # and give it out to only people that were my friends. I run invisible on ICQ so I do not have to deal with the HNG and their requests. One conversation that started by accident was with someone I had written email to in response to a poly question. We talked online once, then he invited me into his chat module with a few other people. While I was in the chat, ICQ flipped out and I was sending, but not receiving. I messaged one of the other chat room participants and he and I proceeded to have a conversation that I enjoyed far more than the chat module. A couple months later, we met. Where we go from here, who knows.

I used to talk to anyone that would message me. In my old, curmudgeon-y age, I don't have the patience to have fluffy online chat.

-- Von (vonniern@mindspring.com), November 19, 1999.


Heh. It took me a minute to figure out what HMG stood for. I'm assuming "Horny Net Guys", right? I'm going to go out on a limb here and risk sounding like a racist. I didn't want to say it in my journal, but it seems like almost every guy I've talked to like that (and this goes for the rabbits on M-Net, too) is of Indian (not Native American) ancestry, and is a software programmer. It's like a whole little subculture.

It was certainly true of my buddy Peter today. I know. He sent me a picture.

I wouldn't have even brought it up, except I'm not exaggerating. I'm wondering if there really is some kind of cultural thing I'm missing that makes that sort of interaction more likely.

Anyway. I'll shut up before I get myself in trouble. :)

-- Lisa (lanichols@yahoo.com), November 19, 1999.


You know, I was going to mention that, but decided that I would leave it alone, but since *you* brought it up...

4 out of 10 men that requested to be on my ICQ list were from either India or Taiwan. Hrm.

Only 2 out of the 4 had something to say to me requiring more than a few key strokes to respond on my part. Those 2 disappeared over the course of time.

Should the next forum question be what country have you been hit on from the most? :)

-- Von (vonniern@mindspring.com), November 19, 1999.


I was on AOL years ago and once, to amuse a friend and to show him how bad the HNG syndrome was on AOL, made up a stupid screen name with, as I recall, the word "sexy" or somesuch in it. The IMs were constant for several minutes, until my computer nearly melted down.

Once I got fed up with the HNGs on AOL, I started to tell them that I was a cross-eyed, 80 year old hermaphrodite with herpes. That worked amazingly well.

-Erica

-- Erica Jackson (erica@ericajackson.com), November 23, 1999.


Heh. Just earlier this month I told some guy on ICQ that I was thirteen and that my parents were reading my messages with me. You should have seen him freak out. :)

The same guy from Friday was talking to me today. It's just... bleah. We'll actually have a decent conversation, but he keeps trying to turn it into a sexual conversation. Today he said he wanted to meet me. I finally just said, "Look. If all you want to do is talk about sex, or plan to meet to have sex, you should probably find someone else to talk to, because I'm not interested." Never heard from him again. Whee. People are kinda scary.

-- Lisa (lanichols@yahoo.com), November 23, 1999.



Some sad cases of the desperate people here. All they can think of this perverse things. Well then icq at least saves you from the botheration by these stupidos by letting you avoid being contacted by anyone but you contacts in the list. This may make things hard on decent people just generally looking for new friends or entertaining conversations or anything but sex , violence , drugs or whatever. I wonder if there is a way to get around this bar. Or i guess you have to mail them and ask for permission which in my opinion seems to awkward to do .. hurts the self esteem to beg for permission to talk to a stranger.

I have had nice conversations when previous versions of icq had not implemented such blocks. I have made some long lasting friends who i have never seen over it. But i think becuase of a few ( well many actually) idiots the whole things just not working.

-- Indian (raptor@eminem.com), August 19, 2002.


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