hahaha... an interesting article from today's MSN news... the Do's and Don'ts of IM...

DO: Be aware that instant messages can be saved. You may think IM is great because you can let your guard down, make bold statements, chastise a boss, employee or co-worker, and have it all wiped away from the record when you are done. What you aren't realizing is that one of the parties to your conversation can copy and paste the entire chat onto a notepad or Word document. Some IM services allow you to archive entire messages. Bottom line: Be careful what you say, just like you would in an e-mail.

*you know i cut and paste your messages all the time right? muhahahaha....

DON'T: Allow excessive personal messaging at work. Yes, you make personal phone calls at work, send personal e-mails, and allow your employees to do the same. But you encourage them to keep it to a minimum and (hopefully) do the same yourself. For instant messaging, go even further. Urge that personal chats be done during breaks or the lunch hour — or that the chats generate new customers or revenue to the business. Here's something that ought to be in your policy.

*i do this at my temp jobs all the time... hehehe.... maybe that's why i don't have a job still...?