Away messages are quite good. They let me know why people are not talking to me (well, part of the reason, at least). I believe the best away messages tell people where you're at, and add something witty, informative, insightful, inspirational, or whatever else. Away messages that take five minutes to read are bad, though. Of course, I do not always follow these personal rules, but you can rpetend I have a good reason for not doing so.