Buddies with multiple IDs: how to message to a specific one?

Question

Here's a relatively simple problem, on the face of it, that I can't figure out how to solve. Is there in fact a solution?
I have an increasing number of buddies with multiple IDs (almost always AIM), for instance, one for home and one for work. Because most of them have broadband in both places, they don't shut their computers down in either location and are usually signed in to iChat/AIM in both. I've got their various IDs noted in their cards in Address Book, but in iChat I only see one entry for the person regardless of which ID, or both, is signed in at the moment. There doesn't seem to be much logic to which picture iChat displays along with the entry, so I can't ever tell which ID I am looking at. I know that a mouseover on the iChat entry will tell me the status of all IDs associated with that person, but how can I send a message to the ID that I want?
Example: buddy is at work and signed in using work ID. Buddy's spouse is at home, also signed in, using home ID. I see one entry for my buddy, showing as active. It might display the home picture and it might display the work picture. If it's the home ID, and open a message window, I'll be messaging with the spouse at home, instead of with my buddy at work -- and I don't see any way to get at the other ID. Is there a way to pick the ID I want to message with?
I see that I can keep them separate if I create different groups and add each ID, from the same card, to each group. But that's clumsy (as is creating separate cards altogether) and basically removes the meaningfulness of the groups. Is there some obvious trick I am missing, or is what I want to do just not possible?

Answer 1

Hi Ralph,
You're exactly right; I need to do the opposite. I suspect it just isn't possible or the solution would be more self-evident. As I mentioned in my original post, the only way I've been able to make it work is to add the IDs separately in iChat and make sure they are added to different groups. Doing this will keep them separate but based on the same Address Book card. In the same group, however, they collapse into one entry and lose their meaning. Unfortunately, keeping separate groups for such a purpose makes the groups essentially meaningless.
As I would imagine this to be an increasingly common occurrence, this seems to be a definite shortcoming of iChat.
Thanks for your response.
Mark