IMs were standard when I was on AOL and I turned mine off. I spent a lot of my time programming our forum and I didn't want to be interrupted. I told people they could email me. Plus, it wasn't just people I knew. Early on, I was one of the few women and I got IMs from lots of strange(r) guys, and then since I had that I ran the Science forum in my profile, I got lots of IMs from kids who wanted homework help.