On Y!360, what does "offline messenger" mean?

Question

I never tried it, but I don't see how it can work if it's off line

Answer 1

UPDATED: Offline notices relate to the use of Yahoo! Messenger (http://messenger.yahoo.com ) - a live chat program - with Y!360. Just like other communication methods on Y!360, a user can enable or disable its visibility on their page. They can also enable the feature and then make their online status invisible.

So, if someone has the status "Offline" under their name, they probably haven't enabled IM communication through their 360 page (or may be invisible). However, if you see "Offline IM" under their name, they have enabled their Messenger status to be shown, but they aren't using Messenger at that moment. If you click on "Offline IM" and you have Messenger installed, you can try sending them an instant message through that service. Whether they are online or offline, they will receive that message (unless they've blocked you for some reason). If someone is online (meaning using Yahoo! Messenger at that moment), then the emoticon will light up to yellow.

There are other methods of instant messaging via Yahoo! Messenger besides through the full version (i.e. downloadable & installed software). You can also IM through the new version of Yahoo! Mail or completely through the web browser (http://webmessenger.yahoo.com/ ). However, I believe the full version works best with Yahoo! services.