Facebook Chat and "Away" Messages
Facebook Chat, originally uploaded by Aaron Landry.
Even though a few people have had it for awhile, Facebook Chat launched for the rest of us today. Just what I need: another network to chat on.
One of the things I noticed right away is that there is no "away" status like most instant messaging clients. You're either online, offline or idle. It got me thinking again on a subject that comes up with friends and I quite a bit: "What is the purpose of an 'away' message anyway?" I don't think there is any standard netiquette. Some people treat it like an answering machine. When they see you're "away" they'll IM you anyway knowing you'll get the message when you're back. Some people treat their "away" status as a way to limit incoming chat traffic knowing that less people will bother you if you're listed as "away." Generally, I use my "away" message as a way to let people know I don't want to be bothered by IM. For one example, if my away message says "Meeting," that means I'm in a meeting and don't want to accept chats. I stay online in case I need to ask a coworker or friend a quick question during that meeting. There's a number of situations where I want to remain connected to the network in "away" mode and not wanting to receive chats that I don't initiate. I rarely IM people that are in "away" mode unless it's urgent or I think it's important. Some people argue that if you don't want to receive chats you should be offline, not "away." It looks like that's the philosophy Facebook had when deciding how their instant messaging client worked. I'm curious: how do you use the "away" message?