Changing the name of "Private messages"
 

I am considering making it possible for my staff to read such messages from members (Private Messages). However, I don't think it's right to be able to read something that is known as "Private Messages"

I would like to know if anybody has gone into their board and changed every instance of "Private Message" or "PM" to something less connotative, such as "Instant Message" or "Personal Message", to give an example... And if so, what steps did you take to complete the transition?

Backup before you start or work on a Test / DEV install.

I have not tryed myself but,
You only want to change the text used to label the PM area not break how it operates.

I would start:
AdminCP => Languages & Phrases => Search in Phrases

Search in Phrases
On this screen you can search for a specific phrase. This searches all languages for the text you specify.

- Private Message
[ x ] Phrase Text Only

You can edit them one @ a time and search for different combinations.

Find and Replace in Languages
Once you find the exact text you want to search and replace place it in the 2 forum fields.

you can do a find and replace as long as you put private messages in the find and whatever you want to use in the replace. Don't use find and replace on just private as it changes links and other text too.