Cut to the Chase
"Aside from the basic etiquette of business IM always initiating a thread with a greeting as opposed to a request, and so on I have found these four tips helpful in keeping communication channels open without letting them get out of control."
Perhaps if I were receiving IMs from outside my organization, I might welcome a greeting. However, when someone within the organization IMs me, I immediately know that he/she wants application support. Rather than waste my time and theirs asking me how I am (they really don't care), I'd prefer that they just launch into the reason for their message (I know full well that they are not making a social call).
