Away

Away (also known as AFK or Away From Keyboard) means a user is not at their computer.

In WoW, Away Mode can be set by typing  or   in chat. The name of the character will show up as Name, and an auto-response will be sent to anyone who sends the flagged user a tell or a ready check. A message can also be typed after  (or  ) which will be included in the auto-reply.

AFK is a common acronym and phenomenon all over the internet, not just in World of Warcraft.

Battleground
A player who enters Away Mode while in a battleground will automatically leave that battleground. The player will also gain the Deserter debuff, which prevents the player from joining a battleground for 15 minutes.

"Detailed" AFK messages
You can make your AFK status more detailed by typing a message "behind" the /afk. This can be used to tell people why you are AFK and how long you will be gone. Some addons will also make your AFK (and DND) more detailed, giving automatic replies telling where you character is located and the like.


 * Example:
 * Alice types:  
 * Bob types:  
 * Bob receives: whisper

Various AFK mechanics

 * You are marked AFK automatically after 5 minutes without any interaction.
 * You'll be logged off and sent to the character selection screen if you are AFK for 30 minutes.
 * You'll be disconnected from the server if you remain at the character selection screen for 30 minutes.

In your Interface Options, under Controls, you can select "Auto Clear Away Mode", which will automatically unset the AFK flag when chatting or moving. It should be noted that any input that would reset the AFK flag if Auto Clear Away Mode is enabled will also reset the AFK timer, regardless the user having the option disabled.

Useful AFK macro
As AFK may be used to let people you don't want to talk with believe you are not available at the moment, it may be useful to make a macro which marks you AFK and keeps you so no matter what you do. To do this, one must access the CVar autoClearAFK while adding a simple AFK command. /run if IsShiftKeyDownthen SetCVar("AutoClearAFK", 1);else SetCVar("AutoClearAFK", 0);end /afk /run if IsShiftKeyDownthen print("Auto-Clear AFK is now enabled.");else print("Auto-Clear AFK is now disabled.");end Clicking this macro will mark you AFK if you are not already marked so. (If you are already AFK, clicking it will drop your AFK status. Clicking it again will turn it back on.) It will also turn Auto Clear AFK off, preventing actions you make from removing your AFK status. Shift-clicking the macro will turn Auto Clear AFK back on. Both actions will be notified to you via private messages.

Humor
Before the  tag was changed to , players on PvP realms often said "AFK" stood for "A Free Kill", because a player of one faction could often attack an AFK character of the opposite faction without that character fighting back.