Appear Offline On Initial Sign-On?

[a144mb]

I'm running Messenger 5.0 (company requirement), WinXP Pro SP2, Office Suite
SP2. I've become acquianted with someone in the office that has added me as a
contact. Because of the distance between us (miles), we have alot in common,
chat often and could chat all day for that matter but we're starting stray
from work. We do not communicate after hours. This has been discussed between
us but we still end up spending a majority of the day happily IM'ing one
another. Question: Is there a way to have my Messenger status default to
'Offline' whenever I sign-in to Messenger? So then I can regulate who sees me
online and who doesn't when I first log in? I do know that the opposite is
true. Once I sign-in, I can appear offline. For instance, as soon as I
sign-in, I have various contacts saying hello. Also, if I 'block' the
contact, what will my status appear as on that contacts Messenger? Thanks in
advance!

[Darrell]

With Windows Messenger, appearing Offline when you first sign-in is NOT
possible; unless it can be done with a registry hack. On the other hand, MSN
Messenger 7.5 and Windows Live Messenger will allow you to set your status to
appear offline when you first sign-in.

"a144mb" wrote:

> I'm running Messenger 5.0 (company requirement), WinXP Pro SP2, Office Suite
> SP2. I've become acquianted with someone in the office that has added me as a
> contact. Because of the distance between us (miles), we have alot in common,
> chat often and could chat all day for that matter but we're starting stray
> from work. We do not communicate after hours. This has been discussed between
> us but we still end up spending a majority of the day happily IM'ing one
> another. Question: Is there a way to have my Messenger status default to
> 'Offline' whenever I sign-in to Messenger? So then I can regulate who sees me
> online and who doesn't when I first log in? I do know that the opposite is
> true. Once I sign-in, I can appear offline. For instance, as soon as I
> sign-in, I have various contacts saying hello. Also, if I 'block' the
> contact, what will my status appear as on that contacts Messenger? Thanks in
> advance!

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Hi,

There is no "registry hack" to magically add this feature to Windows Messenger.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger/Windows Live Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2006 Jonathan Kay.
You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.
--

"Darrell" > wrote in message
...
> With Windows Messenger, appearing Offline when you first sign-in is NOT
> possible; unless it can be done with a registry hack. On the other hand, MSN
> Messenger 7.5 and Windows Live Messenger will allow you to set your status to
> appear offline when you first sign-in.
>
> "a144mb" wrote:
>
>> I'm running Messenger 5.0 (company requirement), WinXP Pro SP2, Office Suite
>> SP2. I've become acquianted with someone in the office that has added me as a
>> contact. Because of the distance between us (miles), we have alot in common,
>> chat often and could chat all day for that matter but we're starting stray
>> from work. We do not communicate after hours. This has been discussed between
>> us but we still end up spending a majority of the day happily IM'ing one
>> another. Question: Is there a way to have my Messenger status default to
>> 'Offline' whenever I sign-in to Messenger? So then I can regulate who sees me
>> online and who doesn't when I first log in? I do know that the opposite is
>> true. Once I sign-in, I can appear offline. For instance, as soon as I
>> sign-in, I have various contacts saying hello. Also, if I 'block' the
>> contact, what will my status appear as on that contacts Messenger? Thanks in
>> advance!

[DerekRWatson]

If you explain the problem to your company I expect that they will only be
too happy to upgrade your software if only to make you more productive.

"a144mb" wrote:

> I'm running Messenger 5.0 (company requirement), WinXP Pro SP2, Office Suite
> SP2. I've become acquianted with someone in the office that has added me as a
> contact. Because of the distance between us (miles), we have alot in common,
> chat often and could chat all day for that matter but we're starting stray
> from work. We do not communicate after hours. This has been discussed between
> us but we still end up spending a majority of the day happily IM'ing one
> another. Question: Is there a way to have my Messenger status default to
> 'Offline' whenever I sign-in to Messenger? So then I can regulate who sees me
> online and who doesn't when I first log in? I do know that the opposite is
> true. Once I sign-in, I can appear offline. For instance, as soon as I
> sign-in, I have various contacts saying hello. Also, if I 'block' the
> contact, what will my status appear as on that contacts Messenger? Thanks in
> advance!