Here's something odd that just happened, while editing I received a message from someone who wasn't on my service provider and I didn't wish to accept it but hit the wrong button. It was a teen claiming I was another kid. The language was mostly text abbreviations etc. I couldn't remember how to block her messages but I told her "sorry but you have the wrong person. I'm not in the States even, and I am a mother of two. Not your friend's pseudonym at all."
They didn't let up. I reduced it and then they continued typing ruder and ruder little messages as they thought I was their girlfriend.
Honestly, I thought if they did this sort of thing to the wrong person, well, you know what I mean?
I told her that she'd probably got one letter off and that she should check.
She kept on going on about how I wasn't older...and to stop it. I reduced it for five more minutes...then I brought it back up.
Finally I addressed her a message in French, telling her to stop bothering people and go find the right address.
Then I told her, "see? I don't think your friend has learned French since the last time you saw her...huh?"
Finally she gave up!

Is this the way the kids use the system of instant messaging? I'm pretty appalled. My kids don't use it, they only send e mail, and frankly I police it.
What if this child had gotten someone who wasn't a mother and concerned about their safety?
Here I was just minding my own business. I could block it but I have friends and family. As she was on a non provider system and thought she had the right address, my keystroke meant I couldn't block her!
I'm kind of worried if this is the way people communicate now.
And happier about this place.

What do you think?

That is the way people are communicating now. So many people instant message and they're all from different places, some bad and some good, and people don't care if you yell at them or what not. People are always different and they communicate whatever way they want.

I've had instant messages that have been nothing short of obscene and very upsetting. I happen to be the kind of person that just laughs at these sad little (almost ivariably) men and doesn't take it to heart but it often occurrs to me that other people don't feel like that and could be very disturbed by it.

What's the answer, to block all instant messages? Try as I might I could never, ever advocate that, I met my wonderful husband in an Instant Message. I guess the short term answer is to hit ignore on anyone who's offensive, but that doesn't help in a situation like Bruyere's, does it?

Well that's what disturbs me, that this child continued harrassing me after I kept trying to tell her politely I wasn't her girlfriend. She said well why was I given your screenname? I told her it was one letter off.
If it's someone obscene it's easier to tell them off, and you can report them, but this was a kid.
She also did this, she copied what I said with my name and put it on the message screen! She refused to believe me.

I thought there might have been the offchance it was one of my kid's friends in the states or a daughter of one of my friends once or twice and answered, only to receive porno ads or something from a spam program.
Once it actually was my friend's daughter who needed to talk to me as we're quite close.

Now as I do have family and friends on the same network, and it's my only way of keeping in touch, I resent her intrusion. If she'd fallen in with someone who was not as nice, she'd have been quite surprised.