@thekingdom:
Is it bad to come out via text message? I've moved far from home and likely won't see some of my friends for a long time. I just want a quick, painless way to get it over with.
Well as someone who came out to my father by email, and it didn't go so well, I'm gonna recommend against this idea. While you haven't actually changed, its just their perception of you that will change, they might still have questions or concerns that you could help provide answers for more readily in person. (Remember that text messages lose a lot of emotion, and the lack of immediate response can make for over-thought and over-wrought communication.)
Basically, either these people matter to you, and deserve your honest effort, or they're not that important, and if/when they find out doesn't matter so much. For the less consequential people you could let them figure it out on their own by other means, such as a facebook update or similar. Hell, you could post a message about your decisions on coming out etiquette on a blog and see who pays attention 😉