He wasn't there again today.
Most of these programs have contact lists of one sort or another which are supposed to permit us to enter a user and then find him or her again at later date. It's basically an instant messaging unit through which we add people whom we want to meet again and then contact them when we notice that they're online.
But though the messaging part of these lists works very well, the listing part doesn't - apparently by design. When taking part in P2P file sharing we're supposed to feel as though we're criminals, stealing files for which we're supposed to be paying, and apparently for that reason the contact lists aren't permanent, but are maintained only for the time that the programs are open.
What this means, however, is that as long as I'm in contact with someone I can stay in contact with him or her, but once we close that contact I have no way of being sure that I'll be able to reestablish it. It also means that we essentially have to play our luck, hoping that we'll bump into someone again, or exchange e-mail addresses and establish the basis for "real", a-synchronous, contact. It would seem, however, that most users don't want this. I've freely sent my e-mail address to people with whom I've chatted, suggesting that I'd like to have the opportunity to continue the conversation in that other medium. Getting an address back, however, has been almost like pulling teeth.
Go to: Encountering is in the details, or
Go to: They may not even be there, or
Go to: Strangers on a network.