To send instant messages, you need a list of contacts who have Passport accounts and Windows Messenger (or MSN Messenger) installed. The best way to add a contact is to specify an email address, as described here. You can search a directory for contacts, but these usually don't work. Messenger scans only your Outlook Express address book and Microsoft's Hotmail Member Directory, which people often decline to be listed in.
To add a contact:
1. Choose File > Add a Contact.
2. Select By E-Mail Address or Sign-In Name; then click Next.
3. Enter the person's email address (Figure 15.8 ); then click Next.
4. Click Next to add another contact or Finish to quit the wizard.
Contact names appear in the main window.
Tips
Figure 15.9 on a new contact's screen.
you to her contact list, you can choose whether to allow the contact or block it. Check the box to add that person to
your contact list. To see everyone who's added you, choose Tools > Options > Privacy tab > View button.
To allow others to add you without seeking your approval, choose Tools > Options > Privacy tab > uncheck Alert Me When Other Users Add Me to Their Contact Lists.
If the person whose email address you specified doesn't have a Passport, the wizard offers to send that person an email message (from you) with instructions on how to get one.
To remove a contact, choose Tools > Manage Contacts > Delete a Contact; then double-click the contact to delete.