Edit: Sametime has gone away, Slack is the new tool IBMers use at the time of this writing. Some links no longer work.
Originally posted August 9, 2016 on AIXchange
I worked for IBM from 2000-2006. During that time I used Sametime extensively to communicate with coworkers worldwide. When I left the company, I wanted to continue to IM my former colleagues.
There were, and are, several ways for people outside of IBM to connect with IBMers on Sametime. One option is Pidgin, which is described as the “universal chat client.” If you choose this option, you may have to mess around with the XML file to get it to work (see here):
“Pidgin: First backup, then open and edit the following file (location is Windows 7 specific) with your favourite text editor :
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\.purple\accounts.xml.
Now add or edit the following lines within the Sametime settings section under protocol prpl-meanwhile.
<settings>
<setting name=’fake_client_id’ type=’bool’>1</setting>
<setting name=’port’ type=’int’>80</setting>
<setting name=’force_login’ type=’bool’>0</setting>
<setting name=’server’ type=’string’>extst.ibm.com</setting>
<setting name=’client_id_val’ type=’int’>4676</setting>
<setting name=’client_minor’ type=’int’>8511</setting>
</settings>
Congratulations! You should now be connected to IBM’s internal Sametime server. To add contacts or buddies, first find their email address. If you don’t already know your buddies email address, you can search for it using this IBM Employee directory. When you add an internal IBM email address, prefix it with @E. For example, to add Sam you would user name “@E sam@us.ibm.com”. This tells the external Sametime Gateway to add an external contact via email. To add non-IBM users who are also using the Sametime gateway (like me) you can just add them by email address, without the @E prefix.”
Here are two other articles that offer alternative ways to connect with IBMers on Sametime. First, from wissel.net:
“IBM External Sametime Server: You need to have an IBM id, to get one register online.
Once you have it, create a (new) community in your Sametime client (see below). Thereafter lookup your IBMer to add him/her to your buddy list.
Server/Port: extst.ibm.com / 80
Advantage: You can reach any IBMer using Sametime, surprise them.
Disadvantage: Availability is not production level”
This is from IBM developerWorks:
“An ibm.com id – these are free and available from Sign up for an IBMid if you don’t already have one
A Sametime/IBM Instant Messaging compatible client installed on your computer/device. Previously a web client was available however that link is no longer working, so a “fat client” install would seem to be the way to go. You can download the latest Sametime client from Lotus Greenhouse site which will also require a (free) ID to be created. This is a different ID to the IBMid mentioned above, but just as quick and easy to get. You can use other non-IBM clients such as Adium or Pidgin but those clients will require some ‘hacking’ to allow them to connect to the IBM Instant Messaging Gateway — if you’re keen, please check out this blog post from nomaen that details that configuration. Personally, the IBM client does the job really nicely and is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux (RPM and DEB) so I’d just go that route.”
I mention this because I noticed this circulating on Twitter recently. I’m sure a lot of you know at least one IBMer, so this seems like good information to pass along.
Another good resource is IBM whois. This allows you to look up contact information for IBM employees by name.
And while I’m on the subject of instant messaging, don’t forget about IRC.