I don’t like instant messaging. Sure, it provides the convenience of the telephone in that I don’t have to wear clothes, but like the telephone, it’s a small comfort eclipsed by many irritations. As with the phone, when I’m in a conversation with somebody, it requires a chunk of my attention and time. It’s great to talk to people, but I’d rather have conversations be occasional random thoughts than entire scripts of dialog, but my friends on my contact lists prefer the latter. Not to be mean,...