IM in the office
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We've been using Google Talk in my company to pass information around for a few years now, but it has been suggested that we remove it completely and revert to using the phone. Do you think that's a good thing? Are you allowed to use IM where you work? I need strong arguments against the neo-Luddites!
You can't share code snippets very easily on the phone. We're required to use MS Communicator for chat here (and on my last assignment as well). It works OK, gets the job done. On a previous job I wrote a simple (SQL server-based) messaging system to share code with a colleague in another office. (It was also good for communications we didn't want to put into the e-mail system.)
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We've been using Google Talk in my company to pass information around for a few years now, but it has been suggested that we remove it completely and revert to using the phone. Do you think that's a good thing? Are you allowed to use IM where you work? I need strong arguments against the neo-Luddites!
viaducting wrote:
but it has been suggested that we remove it completely and revert to using the phone.
"Revert" is the right word for this. It's going backwards. There are times when you absolutely need synchronous, uninterrupted comms with somebody, but most of the time the polite thing to do is assume they have multiple things going on and send them a message that they can respond to according to their priorities at the moment.
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We've been using Google Talk in my company to pass information around for a few years now, but it has been suggested that we remove it completely and revert to using the phone. Do you think that's a good thing? Are you allowed to use IM where you work? I need strong arguments against the neo-Luddites!
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I suggested that we don't have any phones or IM in my office and let people communicate face to face by talking with each other - the old fashioned way.
Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
people communicate face to face by talking with each other
Was the suggestion popular among fellow geeks?
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We've been using Google Talk in my company to pass information around for a few years now, but it has been suggested that we remove it completely and revert to using the phone. Do you think that's a good thing? Are you allowed to use IM where you work? I need strong arguments against the neo-Luddites!
I'm not familiar with Google Talk, but if it uses the Internet (not limited to your intranet) it isn't secure. It probably also doesn't preserve a log of information sent and received, which could be critical in several circumstances to protect the company and/or you. Using the phone isn't the best solution, but you can record all calls and store them (we do), and it takes a physical tap on the phone line to access the voice calls. Still, IM is incredibly useful for its speed and convenience. I'd suggest looking into chat/IM systems that can be configured behind your firewall to exchange information inside your network, and which logs conversations to a server in case legal problems require access to them. Is Sonork still around? A bunch of us here used to use it for sidebar chats late at night while harassing the noobs infesting the Lounge, and I know that they offered a private host package for that purpose. There's bound to be others by now, so check around.
Will Rogers never met me.
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We use MS Office Communicator and I think everyone thinks it's great. It's used togheter with mail and phone calls, depending on how important/urgent it is. The best part of it is showing peoples statuses, as it links directly to Outlook (sets your status to "In a meeting" or whatever) and our telephone system (so if they call on the regular landline number they go directly to voicemail if in a meeting). On important part for us is that no information leaves our company, everything is handled within our firewall and the server is maintained by us.
Since it is in sync with the outlook calendar, Ms office communicator is a fantastic tool. We are using this.
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Since it is in sync with the outlook calendar, Ms office communicator is a fantastic tool. We are using this.
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vy a duck? I though pigeons were the fowl of choice for communications....
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It is useful for us as devs because you can also send files and our email strips almost everything useful out of emails.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.
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Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
people communicate face to face by talking with each other
Was the suggestion popular among fellow geeks?
Nemanja Trifunovic wrote:
Was the suggestion popular among fellow geeks?
It was Rama's sneaky attempt to completely remove any form of communication within the team.
Regards, Nish
My technology blog: voidnish.wordpress.com Part 2 in my WinRT/C++ series : Visual C++ and WinRT/Metro - Databinding Basics
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We've been using Google Talk in my company to pass information around for a few years now, but it has been suggested that we remove it completely and revert to using the phone. Do you think that's a good thing? Are you allowed to use IM where you work? I need strong arguments against the neo-Luddites!
We have an internal XMPP/jabber chat server. We can use any chat client that supports xmpp protocol. I don't know if people use IM very much here. I chat more by remote login to a linux machine which has a local IRC chat server. I chat with a couple others who are also remotely logged in to that machine.
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We've been using Google Talk in my company to pass information around for a few years now, but it has been suggested that we remove it completely and revert to using the phone. Do you think that's a good thing? Are you allowed to use IM where you work? I need strong arguments against the neo-Luddites!
Our client only allows internal IM (Office Communicator) and no private mails. Because inside data may be very sensitive, these are measures to minimize the risk. I can understand that, but then, it's all about the type of business of the company you work for. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't.
"To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems" - Homer Simpson
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For Java development, IntelliJ includes a feature like this. Pretty nifty for that specific niche, but not for general use. Then there is some open source software called Squiggle[^] and another called IntraMessenger[^]. But definitely check out the Wikipedia entry Comparison of LAN messengers[^].
Narf.
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We've been using Google Talk in my company to pass information around for a few years now, but it has been suggested that we remove it completely and revert to using the phone. Do you think that's a good thing? Are you allowed to use IM where you work? I need strong arguments against the neo-Luddites!
Yes, super good thing. A phone call is an interruption, and one against which you have no defense. Someone's depp into a difficult problem to solve, and you call to ask them something. Potentially hours of work wasted. In addition to being more easily ignorable, the IM client lets you set a status so people can see not to interrupt you.
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what is the name of the chat client you use? if you are allowed to tell me of course. We are currently using the Mdaemon chat client but are soon to migrate to exchange server and I need to find a replacement for internal network chatting.
Let's face it, after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF! Be careful which toes you step on today, they might be connected to the foot that kicks your butt tomorrow. You can't scare me, I have children.
We've been evaluating Livezilla. It's free and open source. Eventually we plan to use it on our website but for now it works as a great internal chat.
don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff!
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We've been using Google Talk in my company to pass information around for a few years now, but it has been suggested that we remove it completely and revert to using the phone. Do you think that's a good thing? Are you allowed to use IM where you work? I need strong arguments against the neo-Luddites!
Having worked with and without, I can say that IM can be used to exchange information much faster than walking over to someone's office and interrupting whatever they are doing for what could have been a 10 second IM exchange. That being said, folks need to know when a voice conversation is truly warranted. I feel that those who do not like IM are stuck is the mode of 'everything needs a face-to-face meeting'. Personally, I feel that many times those face to faces can be overkill, unless you work in very small teams...
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We've been using Google Talk in my company to pass information around for a few years now, but it has been suggested that we remove it completely and revert to using the phone. Do you think that's a good thing? Are you allowed to use IM where you work? I need strong arguments against the neo-Luddites!
In my small company (of 20 people working behind a screen) we replaced most of short phone calls with IMs. So when we've something short to say, it's easier for us to drop a message on the IM and be sure it will be read even if the other person is not on the keyboard. We also use it to tell "heya pick up the phone!" in case one is busy and not responding to calls. I use "openfire" on the server side, and "pidgin" as IM client. Being also the system administrator of the company, I've written a small C# program that notifies me of system events and monitor the execution of jobs. It's much easier than browsing logs.
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My mum and dad got all my old stuff out of their loft a few months ago to see if it would work for the grandkids. They were having some trouble when I called round so I got it working. Of course the grandkids had long got bored watching me faff about with it and moved outside or into the other room to do something else.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.
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what is the name of the chat client you use? if you are allowed to tell me of course. We are currently using the Mdaemon chat client but are soon to migrate to exchange server and I need to find a replacement for internal network chatting.
Let's face it, after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF! Be careful which toes you step on today, they might be connected to the foot that kicks your butt tomorrow. You can't scare me, I have children.
If you're migrating to Exchange then you should look at Microsoft Lync. We (global company - 20,000 employees) have it installed on almost every PC and, as every user gets an Outlook account, all users can use it, either for simple chatting, sharing files or online meetings (either presentations or simply sharing desktops to solve a problem). Lync replaced Lotus SameTime when we got rid of Notes.
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We're not allowed to have any unauthorized chat systems, due to SEC requirements that all communications be recorded... So the firm set up a business-oriented, internal-only IM system, which no one on my team uses.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)Microsoft Lync automatically records conversations in an Outlook folder (which gets backed up on the Exchange server). If set up right, that's probably complying with SEC rules.