The presence prison

Nobody at Basecamp really knows where anyone else is at any given moment. What matters is letting people design their own schedule around when they can do their best work. If you prefer to let people consider something fully, and get back to you when they’re ready, then it doesn’t matter where they are right now. If there’s a green dot next to someone’s name it means they’re available.

"Away", in particular, can be seen as bad form. Stay “away” (which most often actually means you’re working, but don’t want to be bothered) and people begin to question if you’re at work at all. Leave “away” on too long and you’re seen as unreliable. If you’ve got Presence on your work tools, you’ve probably lived this very thing. What a joke, right?

“Available” is usually just an invitation to be interrupted. Try being available for 3 hours, and then try being away for 3 hours. Bet you get more work done when you’re marked away.