I’m suffering from IMPD, which is a malady I’ve invented.  IMPD stands for Instant Message Ping Disorder.  IMPD is that twitch you get when you hear another ‘ding’ or ‘bling’ (or whatever sound your IM client makes) because you know it’s yet another interruption to the task at hand.

We’ve had a company-wide IM system for quite a while now and it has become a requirement to be online if you’re working.  If the IM system is acting up some people even send out emails to let people know they’re offline.  I’m sure it’s great for the project managers and other types, but it’s a real pain in the ass when you’re trying to get work done.  It’s even more annoying when someone wants to BS when you’ve got important stuff to do (or worse, when you’ve got three or four other IM sessions going on).

My most favorite annoyance?  The person who IM’s you to ask “Are you busy?”  They’ve already interrupted me so they might as well just ask their damn question.

I’ve tried changing the sound the IM client makes in the past, but I’ve learned that the new sound will eventually grate on my nerves just as badly as the original.  Unfortunately, these days I can’t just shut the damn thing off.  Still, I’d dearly love to take a fire axe to the server the damn thing runs on.