Quote Originally Posted by DracotheDragon View Post
did they choose to not implement a way to turn it off, or dely it,
Camate's original post about choosing not to use the feature refers to the option to set the Auto-AFK system to kick in at 5, 10, 30, 60, or Never minutes.
However, the OP is asking for a way to disable the Auto-UN-AFK system, which is sort of an unintended side-effect of the Auto-AFK system, for which there is no option.

I can see both sides of the issue... It's nice that the AFK symbol actually means you're AFK at the moment, but annoying that you can't state you're not interested in playing without blocking tells (via the Busy status).
Maybe get an option that allows /busy to not block tells?