Away message
Aim away messages: Most instant messaging services offer the ‘away’ message, whereby a user can post a message about his availability status. This appears automatically, informing the other users who are trying to establish contact. An away message for AIM or AOL Instant Messaging is analogous to the voice message in an answering machine. However, away or status messages appear even if the user is present. Although away messages are somewhat similar to the voice messages of an answering machine, they are upgraded more frequently and often the message contains a description of where the person is, along with the greeting.
Most instant messaging services have created sites from where you can download really cool away messages. AIM also offers its users a number of categories to choose away messages from, from aim funny to aim picture. Away message resources are available on various sites. They not only contain messages, but they also include Buddy icons, smilies, aim expressions and emoticons.
Funny away messages: The advantage of away messages is that they are designed to contain song lyrics, jokes and an adage instead of the actual description on the whereabouts of the user. This makes it interesting for the contactors, who could do without the regular dry and boring default message, ‘I am away from my computer right now’. Instant messaging service users can select from the numerous categories of messages however, the most requested and downloaded category is ‘humor’.
There are many sites that offer a categorized collection of funny away messages like the summer away messages. Other categories of funny away messages are humorous and provide relief from the dull and boring default away messages. Some of the interesting funny messages are:
- I am not on my comp right now, you can try my cell, of course buy me one first!
- Do not disturb. I’m saving the world from self-destruction.
- I am under my desk right now and by the looks of this guy I'll be there for a while...leave a message!
- Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your life!
Picture away messages: Picture away messages are an equally popular category. As the old saying goes, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’, so also the picture away messages say much more than the dreary default away messages. They engage the contactors attention well. Users also include icons or avatars in place of picture away messages for decoration. However, both give a very different appeal to the message profile.
Cute away messages: Cute away message is a category that is mainly for girls. Though boys do use it some times, its main users are girls. The cute away messages are funny, clever and intriguing enough to make the contactor look at the users away message twice. Cute messages are usually in the form of short quotes.
Users can also create their own away messages. However, users have to keep in mind a few things, like:
- The use of proper grammar, irrespective of whatever category you are choosing, funny or cute.
- The language should be simple and easy to understand.
- The message should be directed towards all the contactors and not one particular person.
- Excessive formatting of the message is not a very good idea and should be avoided as far as possible.
- Make sure your away message does not divulge any personal information.
- Make sure your message contents realize their primary purpose, i.e. informing the contactors about your availability status.
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