No, see, that's part of the problem. People are still offended when I don't respond while my away message is already up. They see me in EoFF or something (and sometimes that's at work and I'm not even on AIM there) and they expect me to say something merely because they know I'm online at all.

And if I come off my away message and am chatting to someone - for example, Yams, when I chatted to him about stuff yesterday - other people IM me. I don't really like chatting to many people at once most of the time, and they're offended when I tell them that I'm too busy to talk to them.

I just don't understand why people get upset if I don't respond. If someone doesn't respond, there is a reason. They might have accidentally closed your window, your message might not have gone through, they might be chatting to someone else and be too stressed to explain themselves (whenever I explain myself, they always continue chatting, and then they get offended when I stop responding. I don't understand that at all)... there are so many reasons. "Maybe he doesn't think I deserve a response, maybe he thinks I'm stupid!" Maybe? So what? If it's a reason, it's a reason. I don't think many people are stupid and I tend to respond to most IM's I get when I'm not on away - but if people are going to get offended... well, I just don't get it.

And I changed my mind about that "knocking on the door" thing. IM's are more like phonecalls. Comparing the online world to the real world isn't really right. When you phone someone, they might be there, they might not. If they are and they don't answer, there's a reason. I think people who get upset about that should know better, too.

EDIT: And regarding the "ONLINE MODE" thing - So? I'm online 24/7 (unless my connection goes crappy). It's a messaging service. Instant, even. It's not an instant response service. You choose when you respond. Just like emails, only much faster and simpler. For me, AIM is much like a telephone with an answering machine where you can leave a message.