Problems With Presence
from the a-great-idea-that's-going-nowhere dept
People have been talking about the idea of "presence" for ages, but it's never really moved very far beyond your instant messenger status - which many people don't use. News.com is running a fairly in-depth look at the problems associated with presence - from the need to change user behavior to everyone using different standards to privacy concerns. All of these issues are going to remain stumbling blocks for quite some time - and it doesn't help when those who know best, still insist for presence to work, users are going to have to adjust. That's not how you get products adopted. Of course, the privacy issues are just as big - since I don't want certain people to know that sort of information about me (nor do I want to know that information about others). Already, I'm noticing a problem with my IM clients. There are people on my "buddy list" who I barely know - and I'm wondering why they should be watching when I'm online and when I'm not.
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Well yeah,
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I leave IM "on" all the time, and turn off the active / inactive notifier (this is in GAIM). Since it appears like I'm always online - nobody really knows what my status is.
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I have it on at work and at home...but through wise use of the different options, I have no problem with being online.
I have a full ignore list mind you...and very few people on my invisible list.
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