I don't use IM, but I looked at the Microsoft IM menus this morning and there is no "save" command. So, how does one get a transcript? Who saves it for three years and then gives it to ABC? Makes me wonder if Mary Mapes has moved. Does anyone think that when Monica Lewinsky educated us about phone sex that she was talking about communication this tame?
I can't see Foley saving such a record, can you? So that leaves the page...or his parents. They could just copy and paste the whole chat to notepad.
If it were the parents, it does seem odd that they would have kept it under wraps. Parents tend to go after predators right away. Others in Washington might see such a chat bomb as a valuable chip to play later, whether for power or money. Soon all the rats will come out.
I'm not sure and someone with more knowledge than I could set us straight, but I think all IM's, emails, TM's, etc. are archived on ISP and related servers for a certain period of time. I think the ISP's release of those messages without an express court order could be against the law, but since the Bush Administration has been messing with the privacy act, it's legality may be a non-issue now.
Two thoughts come to mind:
1) NEVER put in unsecured electronic form anything you wouldn't want to be made public.
2) Be careful of what you wish ( ie. internet, phonecall snooping without warrant) - for it might just come true.
The former pages themselves have been sending IM transcripts in to ABC news. I wonder how many of these transcripts are for real - and how many are manufactured. For that matter, how many people have the *same* computer they had three years ago? Or think to transfer all their IM and/or chat transcripts over to the new one? This one stinks of a witch-hunt.