If you're looking for instant access to people, your best bet is to follow the advice given and just sign-up for Yahoo/MSN/AIM and create a group so you can IM people. Or set up one of the many free forums that are available all over the place.
I know it's tempting to re-invent the wheel, but I don't really understand why you'd want to for this. But if you do, use Java!
I know it's tempting to re-invent the wheel, but I don't really understand why you'd want to for this. But if you do, use Java!