Different icons show up next to a contact's name in your Message List. These icons show whether or not a contact is online and available:

• The yellow smiley face icon means that the person is online and available to IM.
• The yellow face with the red circle in front of it means that the person is online but is busy and may not be available to IM.
• The yellow face with the clock in front of it means that the person is online but hasn't used the computer in a while (this is called "idle").
• The grey face means that the person is offline and not using Yahoo! Messenger.

Your Own Status Message

Your status lets people know whether you're available or busy. You can change it by clicking the yellow smiley face below your Yahoo! ID/name the top of the Messenger window. Pick one of the standard messages or write your own by selecting "New Status Message." In the window that pops up, type your status. You can also enter a web link or show a busy icon. Your status message can even show the current track you're playing in iTunes.

Note: If you enter custom status messages, Yahoo! Messenger will save the last five messages you entered. Currently, you can't delete these status messages.

Whenever you're online, you can receive instant messages, even if you have set your status to something other than "Available." Changing your status doesn't stop you from receiving instant messages. You can even receive messages when you are logged in using as Invisible. Learn more about Invisible mode.

If your Yahoo! ID always shows up as online (even when you are offline), please read always online troubleshooting.