If setting status to Free For Chat, it is not possible to go back to Online.
Message to server sets new status to Online (0x0000) but server returns update with status 0x0020 (Free For Chat).
Trying to set other status, for example Away (0x0001) returns status update from server with 0x0021 indicating that 0x0020 is a mask rather than a separate status.
The only thing that seems to work to drop the Free For Chat status is to go offline and then back to online.
Originally reported 2009-11-17 as trac ticket #1678.
Commented 2010-09-10:
It seems at least Miranda also suffers from this problem so it's probably a bug at server side.
I'm leaving ticket open though as a reminder if anyone finds a workaround that can be implemented at client side.
If anyone know of a client that can change from Free For Chat back to Online in a way to make the server believe it, please let us know and if possible attach a packet dump from the client switching status and the response back from the server.
Commented 2010-09-11:
Pidgin also can only set Free For Chat but cannot change back.
Note that both Miranda and Pidgin show their own status as Online even though the server keeps the Free For Chat bit set. (Licq reads its own status from the server reply and shows the Free For Chat status.)
If setting status to Free For Chat, it is not possible to go back to Online.
Message to server sets new status to Online (0x0000) but server returns update with status 0x0020 (Free For Chat). Trying to set other status, for example Away (0x0001) returns status update from server with 0x0021 indicating that 0x0020 is a mask rather than a separate status. The only thing that seems to work to drop the Free For Chat status is to go offline and then back to online.
Originally reported 2009-11-17 as trac ticket #1678.
Commented 2010-09-10: It seems at least Miranda also suffers from this problem so it's probably a bug at server side. I'm leaving ticket open though as a reminder if anyone finds a workaround that can be implemented at client side. If anyone know of a client that can change from Free For Chat back to Online in a way to make the server believe it, please let us know and if possible attach a packet dump from the client switching status and the response back from the server.
Commented 2010-09-11: Pidgin also can only set Free For Chat but cannot change back. Note that both Miranda and Pidgin show their own status as Online even though the server keeps the Free For Chat bit set. (Licq reads its own status from the server reply and shows the Free For Chat status.)