As gaius said, it's not about being unwilling to interact as a member of the team. It's about respecting people's "flow" and recognizing the cost of interruptio

As gaius said, it's not about being unwilling to interact as a member of the team. It's about respecting people's "flow" and recognizing the cost of interruptions. If I'm in the middle of something tricky, it's most efficient if it has my full attention. Once I get everything into an acceptable state, I'll typically check my IMs and emails to answer any questions that people might have for me. For a couple people working this way, the workflow upon running up against a problem might be: 1. Send IM or email to a team member who almost certainly has the answer. 2. Wait a half minute or so for a reply. 3. (Optional) Seek the answer yourself for a few minutes. 4. If the problem is urgent, make a phone call to the team member. 5. Otherwise, work on something else until you get the reply.