Jane, This brings up a good point about IM. IMHO, IM is a security risk and I am establishing a company standard where users behind the firewall are prohibited from using IM, IRC, and peer-to-peer file sharing programs. My opinion is that these types of programs contribute more to lack of productivity than to real problem solving. So my question for the group is, do chat programs (IM, IRC, yahoo) serve a substantial network support purpose or are they more of a distraction, allowing staff to communicate with friends, relatives, drifters, interlopers on company time? Regards, Christopher J. Wolff, VP CIO Broadband Laboratories http://www.bblabs.com -----Original Message----- From: owner-nanog@merit.edu [mailto:owner-nanog@merit.edu]On Behalf Of Pawlukiewicz Jane Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 12:06 PM To: nanog@merit.edu Subject: How important is the PSTN Hi all, Thanks so much for all the great answers. (Could everyone please stop telling me that im = instant messaging). I knew I should've never gotten out of bed this morning. Anyway, 75% of the respondents said the phone is critical. 25% said some form of IM is critical. Just in case anyone was curious. Is it me or is it very quiet in here today? Jane