Away messages have become the downfall of IM.
When they first started, there was no notification so people would message you and get an auto-reply indicating that you were away. Eventually, there became a status flag associated with it and people could tell you were away.
Now, they have it so you can not only see someone is away but read their away message too without ever talking to them. People totally abuse the away message using it as a virtual billboard. I see people saying stupid things like "here". Why would you put up an away message stating that you are in fact not away but there?
To make it worse, there is a new feature in AIM where you can message people while still having your away message up. So you are away but still there. It is like you are living a giant lie.
Call me old-fashioned but I liked it best when having an away message up meant you actually were away.
When they first started, there was no notification so people would message you and get an auto-reply indicating that you were away. Eventually, there became a status flag associated with it and people could tell you were away.
Now, they have it so you can not only see someone is away but read their away message too without ever talking to them. People totally abuse the away message using it as a virtual billboard. I see people saying stupid things like "here". Why would you put up an away message stating that you are in fact not away but there?
To make it worse, there is a new feature in AIM where you can message people while still having your away message up. So you are away but still there. It is like you are living a giant lie.
Call me old-fashioned but I liked it best when having an away message up meant you actually were away.
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