The other day, while I was in battle, one of my no-text friends sent me a long distance menu chat message: "What quest are you working on?" It was frustrating because I couldn't tell them. The normal menu chat gets disabled during battle. It gets replaced with a very limited "battle menu chat".
Not only do I have to get used to a different menu during battle, but I can't say much! What if I want to tell the other battling wizards what level I am? I can't! What if I want to tell them what quest I am working on? I can't!
I think the regular menu should be kept active during battle. For all those battle-specific comments, a separate battle menu could appear next to the regular menu. As for long distance menu chats, I don't need the battle menu at all.
I feel bad when a person menu-chats me, and I can't reply because I'm in battle. I feel like I'm ignoring them, when I simply can't reply to what they are asking me.