online I prefer a PM or and e-mail either way is fine i'm rarely online for a IM conversatino as the connection I use is a crap college one with no open ports for msn.

Offline I prefer a face to face meeting if possible other than that prefer a hand written letter through the post cause I can tell more about a person by their handwriting than by their voice...for example i've had a Cd and a letter sent from Xander and she has nice bold clear handwriting which makes me think she is a person with a bright outlook on life and is content or happy with where she is in her life.