I think we agree. My complaint is that they're replacing an instant messaging service (which most people treat as synchronous) with an asynchronous service and

I think we agree. My complaint is that they're replacing an instant messaging service (which most people treat as synchronous) with an asynchronous service and pretending there's not a fundamental difference here. Sure, some people treat it is as async, but the way it's been used in my experience is as mostly sync. Treating it as async gets perceived as rude, unless you're very explicit about it (or if people see you're always "available", then they get the message). (Also note that Hangouts might make things worse for you too, as you'll only be green-dot when you're actually at your computer, so people will know when you're actually there and ignoring them)