hm...

[arib]

Am I allowed to send an instant message to a part of the world where it's already Shabbos?

See, Dani left his AIM client up, and I know he won't type back, so it's not like I need to worry about causing him to do something prohibited.

Man, I need a better hobby. :-)

Comments

[cellio]

I know I have seen responsa on vaguely-related matters like whether you can leave a web server up and whether that changes if your site does totally-automated e-commerce. (I believe the precedent there is owners of vending machines.)

I suspect [IANAR;TINAP] that in the case of IM, you can send the message because his computer is already on and potentially sending/receiving packets anyway. It might be different if you were remotely activating equipment -- e.g. calling him knowing that you will cause his answering machine to turn on. But I think of the IM issue as somewhat analogous to the toilet-flush issue; your particular transmission might be the incident that causes his computer to awake from sleep mode (like your flush might be the one that turns the pump on), but there's so much going on in the ether/plumbing that's beyond your control that it can't really be pinned on you.

Interesting question, though. If you find an answer, I'd be interested in hearing it.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I seem to remember interesting conversations with you about car riding and Powells shopping, awhile back. :)

[arib.livejournal.com]

Well yeah, but that's just not geeky enough. :-)