Methods and systems for telecommunications operations and controls include (1) an enhanced text message process or methodology that allows a remote user who does not have, already installed, a specialized voice telephony program to nevertheless place and participate in a voice call, (2) call admission control using a “degrees of separation” metric, (3) real time controlled sharing of contact (buddy) lists, (4) multi-service instance messaging conferences, and (5) “meta buddies” or buddy lists that can be automatically imported and made part of a user's own buddy list.