Spud is the best man to explain this.
I think that when you add people to your friendlist, they get a higher rating then the non-friends. If you go into messages and rightclick the friend, then you can give them a friendslot. At least in Sivka which I use.
They look offline if you aren't in their queue for anything, and if they aren't in your queue for anything.
I think this is about right, but Spud will probably correct me on something..
