You can use the privacy setting to allow others to break trough your "Do Not Disturb settings".
Current sentences:
"Control who can chat with you when your status is set to Do Not Disturb. Only the contacts on the following privacy list can see your status as Available."
Unfortunately a person who is allowed to do si sees you as "available" instead of being aware of your current status..
Please enhance this in the way that the person is allowed to break trough the current status is allowed to do so, but still sees the your status.
New sentences:
""Control who can chat with you when your status is set to Do Not Disturb. Only the contacts on the following privacy list can contact you even that you are on "Do Not disturb""
As an alternative you could change the way Sametime handles this by entry/person
1. See as available
2 allowed to break trough
Alternative sentences:
""Control who can chat with you when your status is set to Do Not Disturb. Only the contacts on the following privacy list can either see your status as Available or break trough in case your on Do Not Disturb""