why people have moved from email to im is beyond me.

one gives up topical conversation threads with relevant aubject lines, easier search and retrieval, thread-specific groups and readers, more robust spam-filtration, the lack of necessity of a phone number, more flexible options for cross-platform access, downloadability of your messages, options to host your own server, and so on.

in return, you get perhaps a tad more convenience from an im -- even that is debatable, though.

it's high time we all returned to the friendly envelope instead of the intrusive chat bubble.

edit: another benefit: with email, you can still communicate with people who've chosen a different email platform. they don't have to have the same domain as your email provider.