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From the FAQs: > "Where can I change my status? You can't and don't need to. Flamingo automatically updates your status between Available, Idle, Away, and Offl

From the FAQs: > "Where can I change my status? You can't and don't need to. Flamingo automatically updates your status between Available, Idle, Away, and Offline by monitoring the idle time of your computer. And status messages? Come on, it's 2013." ...I do not like that one bit. Saying it's 2013 is very ignorant to how people use the "away" feature. I like manually setting if I'm away or busy, because I'm working and do not want to be disrupted. I think you guys should re-think your understanding of how people use Available/Away/Idle/Etc.

danpalmer 13y ago
I never set this on my chat clients, and find it very annoying that it's not always done for me. I think this one is just a matter of opinion. Perhaps a setting for it would be nice in the future, but for 1.0, I think they made a good decision.
- MichaelGG 13y ago
  There's a difference between cutting a feature due to resource constraints, and actively saying that the feature is a bad idea. Unless you're pulling an Apple/Microsoft and telling people they're wrong, while you hurry to do the right thing.
- Foomandoonian 13y ago
  I agree. If I don't want to be interrupted, I close down the client. I don't really see how this is much different to manually setting my status to 'busy'.
Touche 13y ago
Agreed, wouldn't have bought it if I had known that, I also like to change my status when busy.
FireBeyond 13y ago
Right. My company uses GTalk - we all work remotely - and it’s customary for us to use Busy with things like “On The Phone” or “Meeting” or whatever.
gugol 13y ago
If you don't want to be disrupted, why don't you just close the app?
heyheyhey 13y ago
Agreed. This is one of the main reasons why I will never switch to Hangouts from Talk.
- agildehaus 13y ago
  Snoozing notifications sets you as invisible in Hangouts, FYI. I'd much rather have notifications and invisibility settings separate, but at least invisibility is still possible.
RossDM 13y ago
Amen. What ever happened to privacy?
LaSombra 13y ago
It looks like some people got the Apple bug :( I was thinking about looking at this application, but this is a letdown to me.
- CrankyPants 13y ago
  Eh, "the Apple bug" is a bit off the mark in this case, since Apple's own IM client allows one to set away status.
dfxm12 13y ago
I'm totally ambivalent on this feature because I think it really doesn't matter. If you don't want to be disrupted, turn off notifications (if possible), or log out. If you are too busy to talk to someone then don't tempt them by showing up as logged on in their contact list. It's win/win. Instant messaging is becoming more and more like email in that it is moving from a synchronous to an asynchronous form of communication. When I IM someone and they don't answer instantly, I assume they are busy. Just like with email. Just like when they don't answer the phone. Just like with voice mail. This is even if their status has a green bubble next to it, because that really means nothing, especially when it is user selected. N.B.: In every enterprise chat program I've used, setting your status as "away" or "busy" does nothing to stop others from contacting you. Microsoft's offerings (OCS/lync) has a "Do Not Disturb" which does this.
- Jtsummers 13y ago
  Being "away" has never, at least since I started IM'ing in '97 ('98?) meant "the client blocks messages". It's always been a social signal, "I'm probably not here, don't expect a reply". And if people are "tempted" by seeing someone who's idle or away and feels compelled to send them a message, that's their issue, not the issue of the person who's marked as "away". Perhaps, to me, the most annoying thing about this sort of "feature" is that it's a deliberate reduction in capabilities. Every client I use now is perfectly capable of automatically setting my status, and allowing me to set custom status states. Eliminating a feature like this from the users is akin to saying, "It's 2013, you shouldn't be saving your documents. We'll know when you're done because you'll have stopped editing it." EDIT: Examples where custom setting away/present status is very useful to me, my phone and my laptop. My phone is connected to google talk all the time, most of the time it's marked as "away" (particularly during the work day or when I'm at events where the phone isn't appropriate). I mark my status as "available" when I'm actually able to chat, any automatic detection based on idleness would be wrong. It's similar with my laptop at home. It's on the entire time, and since I do my reading and writing at my kitchen table it's also usually within arms reach, playing some music. When I'm doing something that I want to discourage chats (but not prevent), "away" status is perfect. If I really want to prevent chat then I can go "invisible" or close it. Leaving it open versus closing it (in the case of "invisible") gives me the option of watching for other people that I might want to talk to.
indragie 13y ago
I'm the developer of Flamingo. There's understandably a lot of opinions on how exactly this should work, but we believe we made the best decision in removing something that most people rarely use to realize our vision for what a modern instant messaging client should be like. It's an opinionated decision, and we realize that many will not agree with it.
- CrankyPants 13y ago
  Except your decision really won't win you as many customers as it'll lose you. I was interested in buying it until I saw this thread. Having manual status turned off by default, but available to enable in settings, shouldn't lose you a single customer. Strange design choice, even stranger justification.
- jonheller 13y ago
  That's unfortunate. I know it's just one example but I was planning on recommending this to my company of several hundred people. But it's essential for people at a company, especially one with a lot of remote workers, to specify when they're away and when they might be back.
wmeredith 13y ago
Yeah, that's a deal breaker for me. They're assuming too much about my motivations, what I want, etc... Looks pretty slick otherwise.
CrankyPants 13y ago
Same here. There's no way I'd use an IM client that doesn't allow me to set my status manually.
drewjoh 13y ago
No status message options = no go for me as well.
malandrew 13y ago
The problem is that the networks support status at all beyond online and offline. If the other users know nothing more than the fact that your machine is reachable, that's all they need to know to contact you. Whether or not you respond is your call. IRC has worked for years without away messages and the like as a feature. I've never once missed a status beyond knowing that my message was delivered.

danpalmer 13y ago

I never set this on my chat clients, and find it very annoying that it's not always done for me. I think this one is just a matter of opinion. Perhaps a setting for it would be nice in the future, but for 1.0, I think they made a good decision.

MichaelGG 13y ago
There's a difference between cutting a feature due to resource constraints, and actively saying that the feature is a bad idea. Unless you're pulling an Apple/Microsoft and telling people they're wrong, while you hurry to do the right thing.
Foomandoonian 13y ago
I agree. If I don't want to be interrupted, I close down the client. I don't really see how this is much different to manually setting my status to 'busy'.

Touche 13y ago

Agreed, wouldn't have bought it if I had known that, I also like to change my status when busy.

FireBeyond 13y ago

Right. My company uses GTalk - we all work remotely - and it’s customary for us to use Busy with things like “On The Phone” or “Meeting” or whatever.

gugol 13y ago

If you don't want to be disrupted, why don't you just close the app?

heyheyhey 13y ago

Agreed. This is one of the main reasons why I will never switch to Hangouts from Talk.

agildehaus 13y ago
Snoozing notifications sets you as invisible in Hangouts, FYI. I'd much rather have notifications and invisibility settings separate, but at least invisibility is still possible.

RossDM 13y ago

Amen. What ever happened to privacy?

LaSombra 13y ago

It looks like some people got the Apple bug :( I was thinking about looking at this application, but this is a letdown to me.

CrankyPants 13y ago
Eh, "the Apple bug" is a bit off the mark in this case, since Apple's own IM client allows one to set away status.

dfxm12 13y ago

I'm totally ambivalent on this feature because I think it really doesn't matter. If you don't want to be disrupted, turn off notifications (if possible), or log out. If you are too busy to talk to someone then don't tempt them by showing up as logged on in their contact list. It's win/win. Instant messaging is becoming more and more like email in that it is moving from a synchronous to an asynchronous form of communication. When I IM someone and they don't answer instantly, I assume they are busy. Just like with email. Just like when they don't answer the phone. Just like with voice mail. This is even if their status has a green bubble next to it, because that really means nothing, especially when it is user selected. N.B.: In every enterprise chat program I've used, setting your status as "away" or "busy" does nothing to stop others from contacting you. Microsoft's offerings (OCS/lync) has a "Do Not Disturb" which does this.

Jtsummers 13y ago
Being "away" has never, at least since I started IM'ing in '97 ('98?) meant "the client blocks messages". It's always been a social signal, "I'm probably not here, don't expect a reply". And if people are "tempted" by seeing someone who's idle or away and feels compelled to send them a message, that's their issue, not the issue of the person who's marked as "away". Perhaps, to me, the most annoying thing about this sort of "feature" is that it's a deliberate reduction in capabilities. Every client I use now is perfectly capable of automatically setting my status, and allowing me to set custom status states. Eliminating a feature like this from the users is akin to saying, "It's 2013, you shouldn't be saving your documents. We'll know when you're done because you'll have stopped editing it." EDIT: Examples where custom setting away/present status is very useful to me, my phone and my laptop. My phone is connected to google talk all the time, most of the time it's marked as "away" (particularly during the work day or when I'm at events where the phone isn't appropriate). I mark my status as "available" when I'm actually able to chat, any automatic detection based on idleness would be wrong. It's similar with my laptop at home. It's on the entire time, and since I do my reading and writing at my kitchen table it's also usually within arms reach, playing some music. When I'm doing something that I want to discourage chats (but not prevent), "away" status is perfect. If I really want to prevent chat then I can go "invisible" or close it. Leaving it open versus closing it (in the case of "invisible") gives me the option of watching for other people that I might want to talk to.

indragie 13y ago

I'm the developer of Flamingo. There's understandably a lot of opinions on how exactly this should work, but we believe we made the best decision in removing something that most people rarely use to realize our vision for what a modern instant messaging client should be like. It's an opinionated decision, and we realize that many will not agree with it.

CrankyPants 13y ago
Except your decision really won't win you as many customers as it'll lose you. I was interested in buying it until I saw this thread. Having manual status turned off by default, but available to enable in settings, shouldn't lose you a single customer. Strange design choice, even stranger justification.
jonheller 13y ago
That's unfortunate. I know it's just one example but I was planning on recommending this to my company of several hundred people. But it's essential for people at a company, especially one with a lot of remote workers, to specify when they're away and when they might be back.

wmeredith 13y ago

Yeah, that's a deal breaker for me. They're assuming too much about my motivations, what I want, etc... Looks pretty slick otherwise.

CrankyPants 13y ago

Same here. There's no way I'd use an IM client that doesn't allow me to set my status manually.

drewjoh 13y ago

No status message options = no go for me as well.

malandrew 13y ago

The problem is that the networks support status at all beyond online and offline. If the other users know nothing more than the fact that your machine is reachable, that's all they need to know to contact you. Whether or not you respond is your call. IRC has worked for years without away messages and the like as a feature. I've never once missed a status beyond knowing that my message was delivered.