When I use instant messaging applications, I don’t make them lie about whether I’m idle, away, or otherwise. The whole point of presence information is to convey something meaningful to anyone interested in communicating with the user. I like this idea, so if I don’t want to be bothered, I go “away” or logout.
The very act of someone messaging me when I’m clearly available and asking “u there?” sends me into vapor lock. Exactly the same kind of brain gridlock that occurs when I answer the phone and a voice at the other end immediately says “hold on a sec.” I can’t get past my incredulity in order for anger and frustration to fully take hold, so I just sit there in limbo and watch people slapping away the helpful tools they’re being given. Watching them lapse into the same old behaviors that have proven to waste the only thing we can never get back – our time.