To Prune?

[debka_notion]

I was looking through my AIM buddy list, and I really ought to prune it. But as soon as I do, generally, I see someone I just took off after not interacting for ages, and feel bad because for some reason or other they've said something about making contact after that meeting. Of course, I then don't talk to them, and they don't try to talk to me either, so it's pointless- it's just enough to make me feel guilty. How long after someone ceases to use a screen name is it ok to remove it, I wonder... THe behind-the-scenes etiquette of these things is just waiting for someone to codify it in some way...

Comments

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

And what do you do with the people you haven't gotten in the habit of IMing with... yet?

[belu.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've ever removed a screenname. I just shunt them into a group of old screennames, which then gets collapsed. (Well, technically, if I want to be accurate, there's a few that are in a special group which is also collapsed.)

[carnilius.livejournal.com]

I don't ever delete screen names.

In order to make room for all of them, I have at least 10 screen names signed on at once.

Gaim has a useful feature which lets you sort your buddy list by logsize, so the person you talk to most frequently is at the top, and so on.

[tovaks.livejournal.com]

Wow, I can't wrap my mind around KNOWING enough people such that you'd need ten active screen names. Personally, I have someone's SN if I have a reason to talk to the person--people I knew in HS and others with whom I've lost touch were pruned years ago. I know every person's SN, and I talk to them or think I might have occasion to talk to them. **Shrug**

[ryuutchi.livejournal.com]

I leave people on my buddy list until I can't remember who the SN belongs to anymore. ^^ Then I delete it.