You don't rely on chat though do you? You can just go to yahoo! or lycos for a chat. The point is Jimmy, that people all over the world have their contacts listed in their messenger, sign in to messenger everytime they are logged on (people don't chat every time they log on do they?). This is much the same as Hotmail, where you may or may not have noticed they have started charging for when your mailbox fills up to a certain amount. To stop using it, for lots of people, would be a real hassle, which they might be prepared to pay for the privelage to keep. Chat rooms are all over the web, with not one of them standing out as being the leader, Messenger however is far and away out in front of all it's competitors.

Time will tell whos right on this Jimmy, but I think you'll find, as usual, it'll be me.