Fun with 'bots
Library Chat Greeter.
Roll Your Own IM-bot
"WiredBots: simple toolkits for making AIM and MSN Messenger IM bots." [Boing Boing]
This is too damn cool! If I was only a programmer, I would play around with it and create a library bot that patrons could query for bestseller lists, library hours, and eventually OPAC & database queries. Anybody else want to try until that day when pigs fly?
Alternatively, maybe Andy B. could provide some assistance on this one....
[The Shifted Librarian]
Given that they reccomend doing the programming in perl, it could probably also be done in python as well. I know with python it is supposed to be fairly easy to build in a GUI, which in turn would allow you to create the forms and fields to generate answers from. I know that perl has that capability as well, but I have books on python here, and it is already on my machine... Now I have a reason to start learning it.
Thought: Set the bot with security such that it will only give certain answers to people that you have on a list. For example, you would have it set to tell a close friend where you were, or give out your cell number in case they had lost it, but it would not hand this out to complete strangers. It could also pester you with reminders form your appointment book, or to do list, or even take short messages from your friends (if they knew the keywords to get it started).
Example:
Friend: hey! Where is Jane?
AIMbot: (checks name against list of trusted folks) Jane is on her way to work.
Friend: Leave Message?
AIMbot: Handjive? (checking for the password to allow this functionality)
Friend: Annabobanna
AIMbot: Go ahead.
Friend: Meet you at Phil's restaurant after work, 6ish, k?
AIMbot:...
AIMbot:...
AImbot:... Will that be all?
Friend: Yup, later!
AIMbot:Goodbye
Then, when the user goes online later, the bot lets them know that there are messages waiting. Since AIMbot only records messages from people that you allow, and if you want, only from those who know the password (as above).
8:29:11 AM 
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