At KISSmetrics our team is distributed around the global in 5 different timezones. When we interview candidates a common question asked is how do we like working remotely from one another. We love it. We use Hipchat as our water cooler, breakroom, and discussion area.
However, there is one thing in Hipchat that needs to be explained. By default, Hipchat will make a noise and bounce in your dock anytime a message is sent. This can become annoying during the work day since Hipchat is used as a water cooler and most of the stuff discussed is not mission critical. You are able to turn this functionality off, and most of us do. But this brings up the notification when someone is @ mentioned.
The dreaded @ symbol. In Hipchat, anytime someone mentions you with your defined @ handle the dock bounces and a sound goes off. This means that someone is attempting to bring something to your attention (and this is likely to be an urgent matter). There is also an @all that will ping ever