12-06-2005, 08:51 PM
MSN works differently from ICQ in that it is strictly an Instant Messenger as opposed to a Messenger.
Messages on MSN never reach a central service as ICQ does, and hence there is no message buffering. (sending messages to people offline and having it get there) It simply won't allow you to do it.
The "appear offline" feature is relatively new, and it, IIRC, was impleted only a few months ago in the latest MSN messenger. MSN culture doesn't seem to have the same kind of culture as ICQ did.
I can't tell you much more than that since I'm a gaim user on Linux.
Personally, if there's someone I don't want talk to, I simply ignore their messages until such time that I feel otherwise. With only the bare notification features activated in gaim, I'm not annoyed at all even if they spam me for hours on end.
Messages on MSN never reach a central service as ICQ does, and hence there is no message buffering. (sending messages to people offline and having it get there) It simply won't allow you to do it.
The "appear offline" feature is relatively new, and it, IIRC, was impleted only a few months ago in the latest MSN messenger. MSN culture doesn't seem to have the same kind of culture as ICQ did.
I can't tell you much more than that since I'm a gaim user on Linux.
Personally, if there's someone I don't want talk to, I simply ignore their messages until such time that I feel otherwise. With only the bare notification features activated in gaim, I'm not annoyed at all even if they spam me for hours on end.