26. The method of claim 19 further comprising: receiving, from the target instant messaging identity, a rating about an interaction with another instant messaging identity in the identified group of instant messaging identities; and storing, in computer-accessible memory, the rating about the instant messaging identity in association with the target instant messaging identity for later use in identifying a second group of less than all of instant messaging identities to be associated with the target instant messaging identity.
26. The method of claim 19 further comprising: receiving, from the target instant messaging identity, a rating about an interaction with another instant messaging identity in the identified group of instant messaging identities; and storing, in computer-accessible memory, the rating about the instant messaging identity in association with the target instant messaging identity for later use in identifying a second group of less than all of instant messaging identities to be associated with the target instant messaging identity. 28. The method of claim 26 further comprising: accessing, from computer-accessible storage, interaction ratings associated with the target instant messaging identity; and identifying, based on results of the comparison and the accessed interaction ratings, a group of less than all of instant messaging identities who are currently on-line such that the identified group does not include an instant messaging identity with whom the target instant messaging identity reported a prior negative interaction.