^^ i think he is just being straightforward. for some people, nonchalant acts like knowingly ignoring messages etc leads to stressful life. you need to unnecessarily remember a lot of things (lies), like what excuse you conveyed to whom. sometimes, you need to maintain such false stories for a very long period. and it strains the relationship if the other person finds out the truth.
most of the IT companies have their own implementation of interoffice communication. office communicator/messenger syncs with Calendar and updates the status accordingly (in a meeting, away from desk, on vacation etc). it keeps things simple and straightforward. increases productivity. this is how it works for grown-up professionals.
world is moving very fast and no one has much patience these days. waiting at traffic lights to waiting for a response from Snapdeal, everyone expects a quick action. it's getting very difficult to meet everyone's expectations (parents, teachers, clients etc). for some people it becomes necessary to resort to such tactics (ignoring messages etc). these people are good at sugar-coating things and can easily handle the situation at a later time. there's nothing wrong in behaving like ssslayer or whatsinaname. they both have their own priorities and they know how to handle their known ones.
i like being straightforward. less headaches and keeps my brain focussed on important things. i couldn't keep up with my friends/colleagues' requests for updates on sites like facebook, orkut etc, so i got rid of the accounts. i didn't want them to ignore me, so i stopped ignoring them on social networking sites.
it projects a poor picture if someone of repute ignores messages/tweets etc. so many service providers (snapdeal, airtel etc) advertise that they are approachable thru various channels but they stand to lose customers' loyalty when they don't respond within a stipulated timeframe. it took me a lot of time to draw a line between work and home life but when it happened, i got my sanity back. now, i get a call after work hours only if it's really important. and i make sure that i attend it. similarly, my friends understand that when i tell them that i am busy, then i am really busy and not ignoring them. keeps relationships simple... but not always. sometimes, i have to resort to what whatsinaname says.