Do the emotions even register for others when you're offline? I'm guessing perhaps not, but I don't know. I'm typically here for about 10-15 minutes at a time, two or three times a day. If my "sick" icon (which I chose because I thought it was the most amusing, and not, as mtwoh brought up, because it is most apt) doesn't show if I'm not here, I don't see any reason for using any icon at all....other than just showing wheter you're online or off.
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( o_
/ >) My 84-year-old non-techy mom uses Debian Linux. It ain't that hard.