I just tried sending someone a SMS instant message via AIM iChat and received this auto-reply:

Auto-reply: Sorry, your IM was not sent because this mobile user has not yet accepted IM to Mobile messages

I don’t understand this.  I sent a message the same way yesterday and got a reply.  I actually received this auto-reply before the one above:

Auto-reply: This mobile user has been notified of your IM. Your IM will be sent if the user accepts. Thank you for using IM to Mobile!

So maybe the party I’m trying to instant message just hasn’t accepted something yet?  Is this something new?

I recently switched IM software from Trillian to Pidgin because of a strange issue.   Trillian is a great product but for some reason, if you didn’t happen to be on my AIM buddy list and tried to IM me, all I got was a beep, but no message.  After I added someone to my buddy list, no problems.

Well this error was probably a blessing in disguise.  As soon as I switched to the open source Pidgin the IM spam started.  But so far it’s only from my MSN messenger account.

If you haven’t used Pidgin or Trillian (or Meebo for that matter) before, they are IM clients that allow all-in-one access to all the major IM protocols like MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk and AIM.

Right now about 2-3 pieces of IM spam grace my screen a day.  It kind of takes me back to the days of Windows Messenger Spam before Microsoft fixed it.  Thankfully, no text message spam for my phone yet, but I get plenty of robocalls to make up for it.

I need to test out a new buddy attempting to contact me.  This way I can determine if Trillian is somehow to blame for the issue.  If I can get messages with Pidgin from someone not on my buddy list then it is most likely something with Trillian.  If I can’t then I’m screwed no matter what IM software I use.