4.8 Instant Messages Site FAQ | DSLReports, ISP Information

One of the more useful features on the site is the "IM" or Instant Message, also referred to as "PM" or Private Messages.

You can send an IM to another member by simply clicking on the

at the bottom of a post by that member.

If you see

this icon flashing at the top of your screen, it means that another member has sent you an IM. You can read it by clicking on the sending member's name -- the one next to the flashing icon. If there are more messages, the other senders' names will be there also. If you open your IM page, the sender's name will be flashing in the right margin along with the icon.

This change allows you to perform "housekeeping" on your instant messages without having to open the waiting IMs.

This

icon indicates that the IM is from either the system or a site moderator.

Where you will see the icon:

Where you find the icon to send your own IM:

NOTE: SYSTEM IMs CAN BE GENERATED FOR A MULTITUDE OF REASONS, INCLUDING NOTIFICATIONS OF REPLIES TO YOUR POSTS (IF YOU REQUEST IT), AVATAR APPROVALS OR IN SOME CASES, MODERATOR ACTIONS

IMPORTANT: IMs ARE CONSIDERED TO BE PRIVATE AMONG MEMBERS OF THIS SITE. THEIR CONTENTS SHOULD NOT BE REPRODUCED ANYWHERE, ON THIS SITE OR ANY OTHER, WITHOUT THE EXPRESS CONSENT OF THE ORIGINATING MEMBER. TO DO SO MAY BE VIOLATING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF ANOTHER MEMBER'S PRIVACY, AND WILL MOST CERTAINLY HAVE NEGATIVE RESULTS.

by KeysCapt
last modified: 2013-09-20 18:10:25

Posting IM content is not allowed!

PLEASE NOTE:

INSTANT MESSAGES ARE CONSIDERED TO BE PRIVATE AMONG MEMBERS OF THIS SITE. THEIR CONTENTS MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE OR ANY OTHER, WITHOUT THE EXPRESS CONSENT OF THE ORIGINATING MEMBER. TO DO SO MAY BE VIOLATING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF ANOTHER MEMBER'S PRIVACY, AND MAY RESULT IN SANCTIONS AGAINST THE USER WHO POSTS THEM. SUCH POSTS WILL BE DELETED ON SIGHT.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 13:57:00

Blocking or Stopping Annoying IMs
In order to stop receiving instant messages, or "IMs," you can click on the "settings" tab on your instant message page and enable blocking. Note that this will block ALL instant messages except for those from moderators or the system.

Individual users can still be blocked via the controls on their profile page.

Feedback received on this FAQ entry:
Why is being able to disable instant messages a premium thing? You'd think that would be a basic thing like other websites.
2010-12-02 15:14:19 (Midgard )

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 13:57:24
Unsolicited Instant Messages
I was sending some IMs, and I received the following message:

What gives?

In order to prevent the spamming of site users by IM, the system will currently allow you to send unsolicited IMs OR E-MAILS only a few times, (more for premium members) after which you will see the message above and will be unable to send more. However, you are normally able to send IMs to members that you have communicated with before and who are still in your IM history, and if a member responds to your IM, it is not "unsolicited." IMs drop out of the database after a couple of weeks, so even if you have communicated with a member before, it may appear as an unsolicited IM to the system for that reason.

HOWEVER: Because the system does allow a few unsolicited instant messages per day, this should not be construed as permitting SPAM of any type. SPAM is not welcome anywhere on this site.

The count will reset each day, so if this happens to you, simply wait until the next day.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 13:57:55

Can I cancel an IM that I sent?
There is a window of about 20 minutes during which you can cancel an IM that you have sent. If this option has not expired, you will see "withdraw message" in the options for that IM. The fact that the "withdraw message" option is visible does NOT guarantee that the recipient has not already seen it. There is some lag among the servers.

If it has not been read, canceling will cause the intended recipient to see this:

Please note the time period above. After the expiration of that time period (about 20 minutes) you will be unable to cancel an IM.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 13:58:33

How long will unread IM's remain at top of screen?
Instant messages will remain until either read or the sender is ignored. You cannot ignore "system" IM's.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 13:58:56
Review IMs already read
If you want to review an Instant Message that you received and read earlier, you can click on the IM icon at the top of the menu:

That will open up your IM History page, and you should be able to find the message below. If you don't see it, check the right column for the sender's name and click on it. You may also look to see if there are other pages to review, like this:

You can scroll back through earlier pages to see if you can find the message.

Also, on your main IM page, you can click on reply to this under any message from any member on the page, which will take you to your entire IM history with that member. This history might be incomplete, but it will show the stored IM history.

All instant messages eventually roll off your IM history page, so if more than a week has passed, it may not be there.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 13:59:27

IM History - Another way to view
There is another way to review your IM history in a situation where someone does not appear on the list that is on the right side of your IM history page. You can go to the member's individual page by clicking on their name anywhere on the site, or using this URL if you know their member number:
»/useremail/u/428142
and changing the URL in the page address to:
»/instant/428142

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 13:59:56
How do I know my IM was received?
For premium members, when you send an instant message, it will appear on your IM History page with a red notification that it has not been seen yet:

When your recipient looks at the IM, the red notification will disappear. This tells you that your recipient has "seen" the message, but it is no guarantee that he/she has actually "read" it.

Non-premium members do not have this feature.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:01:35

Searching Instant Messages
You can search your Instant Messages using the feature in the attached graphic.

You can bury % signs for wildcards, such as: search for "123%456%7890"

The search function is case INsensitive.

12/03

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:02:17
Deleting Instant Messages
How can I delete all of the instant messages I've received from one person? I don't see a "delete all" function.

Find that user's name on the right side of the screen. Click on it, and then click "Housekeeping." You'll see the check mark boxes along with all the posts from the selected user.

Feedback received on this FAQ entry:
Please advise me how can i delet Instant message which goes autometically to my frineds everytime from my chat window. please help
2009-09-13 11:27:23

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:02:37
Instant Message Totals

On your Instant Messages page, which you can reach by either clicking on the IM icon:

or the icon at the top of the page if present:

...you will now see a number beside the user you have communicated with indicating how many IMs have passed between you.

You can clear IMs, avatars, etc from your IM page by using the Housekeeping tab provided for that purpose.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:03:06

Want a great IM enhancement?
User Steve has written a neat little program that, once installed and activated, will monitor your DSLR/BBR account for IMs and open a small window on your screen, along with an audible signal to tell you that you have IMs waiting. It works perfectly on Internet Explorer with Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. It's very small, and the same code compiles on Linux and other UNIX platforms. Full source code is provided.

Steve's Disclaimer: This tool is a private effort and is not endorsed, authorized or otherwise commented on by DSL Reports management.

Learn more about it here.

For Firefox, see this.

For MAC users, there are two available:
Gomez 's BBRImChecker 2.0.1.app and
rjackson 's BBR IM Checker widget

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:04:14

Error Message: Something's Wrong
If you are attempting to send an Instant Message, and you receive the following error graphic:

It may be due to reloading a page, which has caused duplicate IMs to be sent within a close time frame. Just change the text or length of your IM, and it should send successfully.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:05:12
Stuck message flashing!
This happens periodically. You will see the flashing IM icon: but you are unable to find a message you haven't seen before, or you can't get rid of the flashing icon.

Try using the "refresh" function in your browser -- maybe several times. Try "Shift-reload" (normally the F5 key, also try it with the control key).

Another solution, thanks to Nicole-Diana:

A system message immediately removes the "stuck" IM icon.

You can accomplish this by posting in \dev\null and selecting IM for any replies (above the signature box). Then reply to the post, and as soon as you click the system IM, the "stuck" IM icon should disappear.

And another, courtesy of Mauricio:

If you have a user on ignore and that user sends you an IM, you will get the flashing icon, but when you click on it you won't see anything, and the icon will not go away. The solution for this is to take that user off ignore, delete the IM, and if you so wish, put the user on ignore again.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:05:43

Keeping Instant Messages
Instant Messages now have a "keep" option, which preserves them forever or until they are deleted with the normal delete link.

Kept instant messages (inbound) are colored light blue as a background instead of green.

There is no un-keep option; you just delete them.

---------------------------------------

(Note: When first instituted, keeping an IM sent to you would cause a "kept" tag in the sender's IM area. This is no longer the case.)

Feedback received on this FAQ entry:
Hullo. I've been going through my old "kept" IMs and the only way to get rid of them is to "unkeep" them. All other options fail when I try delete this, etc. And for some reason, "kept" IMs do not show up when you click on the "Housekeeping" tab. As a result, I keep getting site warnings about too many requests from my IP addy and have to wait for my imposed "time out". ;-) Might want to update this FAQ. Thank you!
2010-08-05 08:12:23 (RWOTB )

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:06:07

Can I save Instant Messages?
Instant Messages now have a "keep" option, which preserves them forever or until they are deleted with the normal delete link.

Kept instant messages (inbound) are colored light blue as a background instead of green.

There is no un-keep option as of this edit. There is a "delete-this" function for kept messages.
---------------------------------------

• Earlier, if a received message was marked "kept," it automatically marked the sent message in the sender's IM listing as "kept" also. That caused some to notice "kept" messages in their list even though they hadn't taken any action. This is no longer the case.

• Deleting a "kept" message by either the sender or receiver does not have a reciprocal effect like #2, so you can feel free to delete any messages that you sent which are now tagged as "kept."

Feedback received on this FAQ entry:
Is it possible to keep messages when using the MSNTV2?
2008-11-13 16:12:00

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:06:44

Housekeeping Function
When looking at your instant message page, you will see a "Housekeeping" tab. This option, if selected, will allow you to delete all or some stored IMs. You do this by using the check box provided next to them.

This link will also take you to your housekeeping area. There you can checkmark the system messages you want cleared or even use the 'delete all' function from one of them.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:07:02

Stored Response for IMs
You now have the ability to provide a "canned" message to be displayed to users sending you an IM.

On your Instant Message page you will see two new tabs:

The "Settings" tab will take you to a screen where you can enter the message you would like to have displayed.

Below is an example of what the user will see:

You also have the option of setting an expiration on this feature. You may specify, for example, that the greeting should expire after 7 days or some other limit.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:07:48

Instant Messages - Forwarding
On the Settings page of your instant message area you will find an option to forward instant messages to an email address. Simply enter the email address of your choice, and instant messages addressed to you will be automatically forwarded to that address.

Note: When enabled, this feature causes IMs sent to you to display the "READ" status immediately.

Another significant side effect of this: You will not see the flashing IM icon at the top of the page when you sign on IF you are having IMs forwarded.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:08:13

How many IMs can I store?
As many as you want! However, once you build up quite a few (read: 20,000+) the IM function will significantly slow down for you.

I had a good 22,000, and I could not load the page when I had new IMs. I ended up having to ask nil to delete some of my older messages.

Try to keep your IM count below 20,000. ;)

by removed edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:08:45

How do I send an IM to multiple users?
On the Instant Message page (the one you get to from this icon: ) you will see two address boxes: one with a "buddy" drop-down menu and another which allows you to input a name and also includes the option "or list of names."

To input a LIST of names, you can enter them one at a time separated by a comma ONLY -- no spaces are required between names. If done correctly and previewed, you should see your list of members by member number at the beginning of the message. When you send it, each message will include a CC: at its head.

Caution: Be careful not to spam others via this tool.
Please see: /faq/4597

by NoVA_CoxUser edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:09:11

Quick IMs for your Buddies
Now you can quickly send an IM to your buddies See »Site FAQ »Buddy List on the site if they are online by simply clicking on their name at the top of your page. A small IM window will open right below, and you can type in your message and send without going through the normal process.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:09:31

Instant Message, Instantly Read?
If the receiver has set his/her IM's to be forwarded to an email, the sender will see an indication that the IM has been "read" immediately upon sending.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:09:53
How Do I Unblock a Removed User Account?
The site software now functions to automatically unblock resigned or removed accounts and any old messages from them are automatically marked as read.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:10:11
Do Administrators have access to my PMs
Question: At Who is Who page, listing the Administrators you say that

quote:
... "super" users have global read access to all data on the website.

Does that mean that they can read my PMs?

Answer: There is no such thing as absolute privacy for anything on the internet. Because PM's are stored along with other data in the database, they are conceivably accessible, although only to three or four persons, and then only with considerable effort. This site has always been careful to preserve the privacy of members' PM's, except where absolutely necessary to verify accusations of serious misbehavior, attacks on others, etc.

It is very rare that this action is taken.

by aefstoggaflm edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:11:06

What is Checking Disabled?
If a browser or browser tab remains open on a DSLR page for an extended period of time, the user may see this message at the top of the page where the instant message icons appear. It is simply an indication of a stale page, and reloading will remove it.

by KeysCapt edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2013-09-20 14:11:26

All FAQs → Site FAQ → 4.8 Instant Messages

4.8 Instant Messages