I say keep it. Makes bots easier to spot, and only annoys a small vocal minority. If you're just 'checking the time' then you're not really 'away' and, last I checked, you didn't need to move to look at the on-screen clock. Does the 'away' status incur some magical bonuses that I was unaware of? If you stay 'away' for an hour, do you find true enlightenment?

The busy status exists for a reason... why do people always want to overcomplicate simple issues? After all, if you're 'busy' you won't be replying to tells anyway, and it doesn't prevent FC or linkshell chatter.