Yahoo Messenger - "The All New Yahoo! Messenger" v 6.0.0.1643 and Stealth Settings

Perhaps the biggest perk with the latest version of Yahoo Messenger (apart from the additional and revamped smileys of course *g*) is the additon of Stealth Settings. If you're familiar with ICQ Pro then consider Yahoo's Stealth Settings to be almost exactly the same as "invisible status", basically it allows you to select who can and who can't see you online or when you're invisible which is unlike the previous versions of YIM where you were online, offline or invisible to all your contacts or to none.

Simply put ... Stealth Settings allow you to "fake" your true status... eg: you're actually online or "invisible" but you don't wish certain users/groups see your status as such then you can flip Stealth Setting into to play so that to them you appear "offline".

Stealth Settings are very simple to use and you can apply them to entire contact groups (if you're an organised wee soul) or to individual users....
Right click on the name of the contact (or group) on your friends list
Select Stealth Settings
choose from:
Your contact sees you as:
- Online
- Offline
- Permanently Offline

Stealth Settings can take a little bit of brain power (and then some) to understand so some examples about what happens with the different settings and how you login to Yahoo Messenger....

Say you log on as "Online"
right click the name of a friend on your list > select Stealth Settings
you have two options available
• Online <---default setting
• Permanently Offline

If you dont wish for that particular friend to see you online (you want them to think you are "Offline") then click the radio box beside "Permanently Offline", hit OK, and that's how they will see you as.... "Permanently Offline".
The "Permanently Offline" setting once in place, will remain that way until you log back in and/or return to their Stealth Settings to change it to "Online" again.
All friends tagged/marked as Permanently Offline will be in italics on your friends list.
NOTE: Permanently Offline is NOT like ignore, you will STILL receive messages from them.

Say you log on as "Invisible"
right click the name of a friend on your list > select Stealth Settings
you have all 3 options available
Online
Offline <---default
Permanently Offline

By default all the friends on your contacts list are set to "Offline" which means you can login to messenger invisible and no one will know that you are really online... afterall that's the point of invisible is it not ;)
Right, your invisible and you dont wish some your friends to know you really are online, say you're having a bad day or you're having a "sicky" and you dont want your boss to know that you're really at home hoping to do some chilling with your friends on Yahoo! Messenger.... so find a friend on your list who you would like to make yourself available for, right click their name > select Stealth Settings and the select the radio box beside Online, hit OK and you will immediately show as having just come "online", everyone else will still see you as offline (because you're "invisible").
All friends tagged/marked as Online while your invisible will show in std text on your friends list, all other friends who you are still invisible to will be shown in italics.
Point to remember.... say you set your best friend to seeing you "online" despite being "invisible" to everyone else, this setting is NOT retained once you have logged off (or disconnected) all invisible stealth settings are reset to the default ("offline") once you have finished your session so each and every time you log on as "invisible" you need to re-select those you wish to be visible to.

Remember:
• if a contact's name appears in italics then they think you are offline
• if you have enabled your status to show on websites (Preferences > Privacy > When I sign into Yahoo! Messenger BETA allow Yahoo! websites to show when i am online) and your status shows as online then users/contacts who visit these sites (profiles, homepages etc) will see your true status

Links:
Yahoo! Messenger - Stealth Settings Tour