Status / presence
The indicator showing whether someone is online, away, or busy — the green dot, "active now", custom status lines (🏖️ vacation, 🤒 sick). A legacy of the ICQ/MSN era, still central in Slack, Teams, and Discord.
Mechanic: the app shows automatic presence (active/inactive based on activity) plus an optional custom status with emoji and text. Social effects: the "green dot" creates an expectation of availability (and pressure to be logged on), while a status like "🎯 focusing" sets boundaries. In workplaces, presence becomes a loaded surveillance-vs-autonomy topic ("is the boss green?"). Discord's "Do Not Disturb" and Slack's "snooze" let you pause notifications. The concept goes straight back to early IM clients' status lines and away messages. A small signal with a big impact on work culture. Related to away message and huddle.