Away Status
Posted July 17th, 2007 @ 09:15pm by Erik J. Barzeski
I don't mind when people on chat clients mark themselves as away when they're really there. I sometimes do this when I don't really want to be bothered but might still want to initiate a conversation or two.
I do mind when people are marked as available and yet aren't actually there at their computer. It's frustrating to send a message "into space." Half the time the person just quits AIM or their computer (Windows) crashes before they get a chance to see any messages you've written.
If you're away, put up an away message or turn on the auto-away feature in your messenger. It's a good way to respect your "buddies."
One Response to "Away Status"
Posted 25 Jul 2007 at 1:32am #
Much agreed. I know a few people in particular who seem to have turned away messages off... they'll sit for hours, either idle or "available," and yet never respond to IM's. Away when there is slightly annoying when you want to talk to the person and aren't sure if they'll respond, but not nearly as much as the other way around.
That being said, I sometimes forget to turn off Caffeine and will sit idly "available" all day. It annoys me too, of course, because I like to keep my IM buddies abreast of my situation. This is one reason I use Chax to auto-set me as away when my screensaver kicks in. Sometimes, I'd rather just say "I'm away" than what I'm doing.