In my experience away status is uninformative. It's often inaccurate - transitions too early, you can also send the message in the gap between afk and status tr

In my experience away status is uninformative. It's often inaccurate - transitions too early, you can also send the message in the gap between afk and status transition. On the other hand when I'm at the keyboard, it doesn't mean I'm free for chat and can easily reply 10 minutes after I receive the message.