Ok, I give up, can't see it... Where is the link to the instant messages? I know I can send one if the person is on line, but is there a link to get there if the person is not on line??

There is at least a couple of different ways that I know of to get a message to a member who is not currently on-line.

1) In any thread where a member has made a post look under their member name for a link labled Send Private Message. Click on that and the IM window will pop up.

2) On the 'Community' tab click on the link labeled Member Search, enter the member's name you wish to contact, press the 'Enter' key on your keyboard or click on the 'Submit' button, and their member profile display page will come up. Just to the right of their member name will be a link labeled Send Instant Message. Click on that and the IM window will pop up.

I'm sure there are some other ways of getting into the 'IM world', but those work for me. Hope this helps!