What is a custom away message for a single contact/group?
A custom away message is a way for you to override the away message that a certain contact (or group of contacts) will see if they read your away message. You can set up a custom away message before you actually go away, or you can do it afterwards. Either way, once the custom message is set, if that contact (or contact in that group) reads your away message, they will be sent your custom message. You can verify a custom message is sent by right-clicking on the contact (or group) again, and if a custom message has been set, there will be a check next to the “Custom Away Message” menu item. All custom away messages are cleared when you log off. Note that setting a custom away message does not actually change your status, it only changes the away message sent if your away message is retrieved while you are away.
