Away message: RIP AIM 1997-2017
October 6, 2017 11:36 AM Subscribe
AOL Instant Messenger is shutting down December 15. Launched in 1997 as an instant messaging service that broke down the wall between AOL and the wider internet, but somehow unable to make the transition to today's ubiquitous messaging environment, AOL has announced that AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) will cease operations in two months. Time to take one last spin through your Buddy List before signing off for good.
The top comment on this Hacker News thread implies that AOL was still using AIM internally until Slack showed up.
Slack killed AIM usage inside AOL, and that killed AIM.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:42 AM on October 6, 2017 [14 favorites]
Slack killed AIM usage inside AOL, and that killed AIM.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:42 AM on October 6, 2017 [14 favorites]
Well, boo. Ah, the good old days when my boss wouldn't let me use it, even when I pointed out that I was using it for work.
One more thing to kill on our profile pages, anyway.
posted by Melismata at 11:46 AM on October 6, 2017
One more thing to kill on our profile pages, anyway.
posted by Melismata at 11:46 AM on October 6, 2017
Aww! I my wife and I "met" on AIM back in college. She just randomly messaged me one day because my profile blurb sounded interesting....our 8 year anniversary is coming up on Tuesday!
posted by Captain_Science at 11:53 AM on October 6, 2017 [60 favorites]
posted by Captain_Science at 11:53 AM on October 6, 2017 [60 favorites]
The first girl I kissed, I met over AIM.
Thanks for the memories.
posted by alex_skazat at 11:53 AM on October 6, 2017 [12 favorites]
Thanks for the memories.
posted by alex_skazat at 11:53 AM on October 6, 2017 [12 favorites]
My mother and her siblings use AIM as their primary way to communicate. This is going to be terrible to get them to switch to something else.
posted by MaritaCov at 11:53 AM on October 6, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by MaritaCov at 11:53 AM on October 6, 2017 [5 favorites]
I haven't used AIM since they blocked Gmail's IM client.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:55 AM on October 6, 2017
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:55 AM on October 6, 2017
I never used AIM much. My family mostly used Yahoo Chat and then Google Chat and now (god save me) Facebook Messenger but never AIM. Not sure why.
posted by octothorpe at 12:02 PM on October 6, 2017
posted by octothorpe at 12:02 PM on October 6, 2017
I haven't used AIM since some deeply regretted drunken foolishness in the early aughts; I cringed right now from just seeing the phrase "AOL Instant Messenger."
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:03 PM on October 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:03 PM on October 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
I used AIM a lot for years. RIP.
posted by Alensin at 12:03 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Alensin at 12:03 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
My mother and her siblings use AIM as their primary way to communicate. This is going to be terrible to get them to switch to something else.
WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, Allo, Signal, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, Line, Telegram...
Are any of these apps/services something they would consider switching to?
posted by Fizz at 12:04 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, Allo, Signal, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, Line, Telegram...
Are any of these apps/services something they would consider switching to?
posted by Fizz at 12:04 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
My office uses it now! We are that lazy and behind the times. Truly the end of an era.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:05 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:05 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Slashdot is gonna outlast AIM. Huh. I wouldn't have called that.
posted by cribcage at 12:07 PM on October 6, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by cribcage at 12:07 PM on October 6, 2017 [11 favorites]
JoeZydeco: "Slack killed AIM usage inside AOL, and that killed AIM."
AOL also got acquired by Verizon, who are systematically winding down the vast majority of AOL's products, and laying off most of the staff.
AIM usage inside AOL declined rapidly because there's barely an "inside AOL" any more.
posted by schmod at 12:12 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
AOL also got acquired by Verizon, who are systematically winding down the vast majority of AOL's products, and laying off most of the staff.
AIM usage inside AOL declined rapidly because there's barely an "inside AOL" any more.
posted by schmod at 12:12 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:17 PM on October 6, 2017
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:17 PM on October 6, 2017
We'll always have that Napster copy of "All the Things She Said" where you could hear the AIM sound effect going off on the ripper's computer.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:18 PM on October 6, 2017 [49 favorites]
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:18 PM on October 6, 2017 [49 favorites]
I have fond memories of AIM, but I won't spill any tears over AIM going away. There's no place for an unencrypted chat protocol in 2017, really.
That said, this is likely the final nail in the coffin of Adium, which was one of the first apps I ever used on the Mac. It's a multi-platform IM client, and I spent a lot of time customizing it for the perfect minimalist look while I IM'd my friends on AIM, ICQ, Google Chat, and eventually Facebook.
It drives me bonkers that I have four fucking messaging apps on my phone (iMessage, Signal, Facebook Messenger, and Google Hangouts) because I can't use one app to talk to everyone.
posted by SansPoint at 12:22 PM on October 6, 2017 [11 favorites]
That said, this is likely the final nail in the coffin of Adium, which was one of the first apps I ever used on the Mac. It's a multi-platform IM client, and I spent a lot of time customizing it for the perfect minimalist look while I IM'd my friends on AIM, ICQ, Google Chat, and eventually Facebook.
It drives me bonkers that I have four fucking messaging apps on my phone (iMessage, Signal, Facebook Messenger, and Google Hangouts) because I can't use one app to talk to everyone.
posted by SansPoint at 12:22 PM on October 6, 2017 [11 favorites]
I remember being a birthday party for a friend of my wife back around 2000ish and I ended up talking to an AOL Engineer who let it slip there was a game changing feature coming to AIM. They were going to support file transfers! And sure enough a few weeks later I had that capability in my client.
However, the most surprising thing about this news for me was that AIM was still alive. Yesterday I would have sworn I had seen news of its shutdown several years ago.
posted by COD at 12:23 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
However, the most surprising thing about this news for me was that AIM was still alive. Yesterday I would have sworn I had seen news of its shutdown several years ago.
posted by COD at 12:23 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Groundhog Week is typing...
posted by Groundhog Week at 12:28 PM on October 6, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Groundhog Week at 12:28 PM on October 6, 2017 [11 favorites]
-~-
' ` .
; ; _
` ' ' ;
'~~~~'.' ,
; ,
; ,
/ ^ ;
,' / ` \
( ,' ` `,
~ `~
posted by 7segment at 12:30 PM on October 6, 2017 [9 favorites] It drives me bonkers that I have four fucking messaging apps on my phone (iMessage, Signal, Facebook Messenger, and Google Hangouts) because I can't use one app to talk to everyone.
You're far from the only one to notice this.
/Is there some rule that states, for every technology quirk, there is an apt XKCD strip?
posted by MrGuilt at 12:31 PM on October 6, 2017 [17 favorites]
You're far from the only one to notice this.
/Is there some rule that states, for every technology quirk, there is an apt XKCD strip?
posted by MrGuilt at 12:31 PM on October 6, 2017 [17 favorites]
It drives me bonkers that I have four fucking messaging apps on my phone (iMessage, Signal, Facebook Messenger, and Google Hangouts) because I can't use one app to talk to everyone.
I saw a pretty interesting paper presentation about this at a conference earlier in the year, which found that people strategically use different platforms because it allows them to group and contextualize contacts by platform.
posted by codacorolla at 12:33 PM on October 6, 2017 [12 favorites]
I saw a pretty interesting paper presentation about this at a conference earlier in the year, which found that people strategically use different platforms because it allows them to group and contextualize contacts by platform.
posted by codacorolla at 12:33 PM on October 6, 2017 [12 favorites]
I was a dyed-in-the-wool ICQ guy so this is sort of a From Hell's Heart I Stab At Thee thing more than anything.
posted by cortex at 12:37 PM on October 6, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by cortex at 12:37 PM on October 6, 2017 [8 favorites]
My first moments on the internet were spent on AIM. Eventually, my profile and those of my friends' were our greatest means of self-expression online. Happy trails, AIM.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 12:37 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 12:37 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
That said, this is likely the final nail in the coffin of Adium...
I hope not. I still use Adium daily to text with my wife at work via Jabber. We could use Apple Messages, but the desktop app takes up wayyyyyy too much window space compared to nice and minimal Adium.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:41 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
I hope not. I still use Adium daily to text with my wife at work via Jabber. We could use Apple Messages, but the desktop app takes up wayyyyyy too much window space compared to nice and minimal Adium.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:41 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
When my oldest boy was away at college, we would chat on AIM. There was a way you could see someone's away message without actually sending them a message. I'd check his and try to send him a question to which his away message would make a funny response. The best was in his final semester when he was looking for post-graduation employment.
me: Who's your favorite Apple co-founder?
his away msg: jobs
me: Really? I always preferred Wozniak.
His roommate, at least, found it hilarious.
posted by maurice at 12:44 PM on October 6, 2017 [23 favorites]
me: Who's your favorite Apple co-founder?
his away msg: jobs
me: Really? I always preferred Wozniak.
His roommate, at least, found it hilarious.
posted by maurice at 12:44 PM on October 6, 2017 [23 favorites]
> people strategically use different platforms because it allows them to group and contextualize contacts by platform.
I question the "because" part of that, or would be interested in understanding how they defend it; I think it's more likely that when people have to use multiple platforms to communicate, those platforms almost immediately become fragmented (due to network effects) such that you'll end up with different group of people on different platforms.
E.g., I have groups of friends who exclusively use SMS, others on Hangouts, others on Facebook Messenger. This is not convenient or desirable, and I'd much prefer to have them all on one platform and grouped using lists or something, but since that's Not Happening, the next-best is to try and get them sorted by context — that minimizes the number of platforms you have to have open/running at the same time.
Also, I loved Adium, but Google fucking murdered it a while back when they broke XMPP compatibility. I'm still pissed.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:45 PM on October 6, 2017 [8 favorites]
I question the "because" part of that, or would be interested in understanding how they defend it; I think it's more likely that when people have to use multiple platforms to communicate, those platforms almost immediately become fragmented (due to network effects) such that you'll end up with different group of people on different platforms.
E.g., I have groups of friends who exclusively use SMS, others on Hangouts, others on Facebook Messenger. This is not convenient or desirable, and I'd much prefer to have them all on one platform and grouped using lists or something, but since that's Not Happening, the next-best is to try and get them sorted by context — that minimizes the number of platforms you have to have open/running at the same time.
Also, I loved Adium, but Google fucking murdered it a while back when they broke XMPP compatibility. I'm still pissed.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:45 PM on October 6, 2017 [8 favorites]
Back around 2004-2005 I used to run a site called Instant Messaging Planet (domain's still there, different owners, no archive from my era). It was part of my employer's strategy to make verticals about every possible technology it could in hopes a given topic would catch fire and it could sell ads, reasoning that dozens of sites about one thing would be more lucrative than one site about dozens of things (see also Optical Networking Planet, VoIP Planet, etc.) . The amount of stuff people were trying to shoehorn into IM generally and AIM specifically was staggering, and I lost a few years of my life to tending a little site that never broke 100k page views per month in the hopes that enterprise IM would become hot and we'd be rolling in ad spend.
It was sort of interesting to watch AOL experiment with business models. For a period it was super hostile to third-party implementations because it wanted to monetize with ads, then it opened up a little but only so it could try to stamp out multi-network clients, then it tried to license out access to firms that wanted to do stuff like integrate enterprise helpdesk systems, trading reporting, or weirdo HR systems that would help identify corporate influencers.
I remember a day spent writing a review for an AIM client written for Emacs and having to explain to my boss in a 1:1 why that would be interesting to "enterprise users." I mean, I couldn't and we both knew it but I said it was well known that some of the the very most senior developers—hence the mostly likely technical decision makers in a given engineering org—were all ferocious Emacs devotees, and that was enough for my boss to relate to his boss that young Mr. mph over there on the IM beat was keeping his finger on the pulse of enterprise users.
Wow. That was a very dark time for me, professionally speaking.
posted by mph at 12:48 PM on October 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
It was sort of interesting to watch AOL experiment with business models. For a period it was super hostile to third-party implementations because it wanted to monetize with ads, then it opened up a little but only so it could try to stamp out multi-network clients, then it tried to license out access to firms that wanted to do stuff like integrate enterprise helpdesk systems, trading reporting, or weirdo HR systems that would help identify corporate influencers.
I remember a day spent writing a review for an AIM client written for Emacs and having to explain to my boss in a 1:1 why that would be interesting to "enterprise users." I mean, I couldn't and we both knew it but I said it was well known that some of the the very most senior developers—hence the mostly likely technical decision makers in a given engineering org—were all ferocious Emacs devotees, and that was enough for my boss to relate to his boss that young Mr. mph over there on the IM beat was keeping his finger on the pulse of enterprise users.
Wow. That was a very dark time for me, professionally speaking.
posted by mph at 12:48 PM on October 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
brb gotta pee
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:49 PM on October 6, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:49 PM on October 6, 2017 [22 favorites]
I was worried this meant SmarterChild was going to die, but apparently that happened a decade ago, and I failed to mourn.
posted by zachlipton at 12:50 PM on October 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 12:50 PM on October 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
It drives me bonkers that I have four fucking messaging apps on my phone (iMessage, Signal, Facebook Messenger, and Google Hangouts) because I can't use one app to talk to everyone.
Not to mention that Google ripped SMS out of Hangouts (for reasons, I'm sure) so that I have to use yet another client on my phone. Right now it's Hangouts, SMS, Facebook and Slack.
posted by octothorpe at 12:53 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Not to mention that Google ripped SMS out of Hangouts (for reasons, I'm sure) so that I have to use yet another client on my phone. Right now it's Hangouts, SMS, Facebook and Slack.
posted by octothorpe at 12:53 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
zachlipton: "I was worried this meant SmarterChild was going to die, but apparently that happened a decade ago, and I failed to mourn."
Joke's on you. All tech is now aspiring to bring the frustrating absurdity of SmarterChild to every facet of your daily life.
(But, like, also with a veneer of Microsoft Bob layered on top)
posted by schmod at 12:57 PM on October 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
Joke's on you. All tech is now aspiring to bring the frustrating absurdity of SmarterChild to every facet of your daily life.
(But, like, also with a veneer of Microsoft Bob layered on top)
posted by schmod at 12:57 PM on October 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
Thanks for the heads-up. I just removed AIM from my Metafilter profile.
posted by terrapin at 1:08 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by terrapin at 1:08 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
/Is there some rule that states, for every technology quirk, there is an apt XKCD strip?
Would it not be its own XKCD strip?
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:11 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Would it not be its own XKCD strip?
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:11 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
I wonder if AOL has all the AIM traffic archived. They should have, but probably didn't.
Besides potentially being of practical use now for training artificial intelligences, I imagine the ecstasy of an anthropologist or historian 200 years from now (or however long it takes until privacy concerns are irrelevant) who discovers this amazing record of 20 years of everyday casual conversations between millions of people.
posted by jjwiseman at 1:13 PM on October 6, 2017 [5 favorites]
Besides potentially being of practical use now for training artificial intelligences, I imagine the ecstasy of an anthropologist or historian 200 years from now (or however long it takes until privacy concerns are irrelevant) who discovers this amazing record of 20 years of everyday casual conversations between millions of people.
posted by jjwiseman at 1:13 PM on October 6, 2017 [5 favorites]
everyday casual conversations between millions of people.
ASL? Shows me ur b00bs Butts LOL
posted by terrapin at 1:15 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
ASL? Shows me ur b00bs Butts LOL
posted by terrapin at 1:15 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
I question the "because" part of that, or would be interested in understanding how they defend it;
If you have compartmentalized aspects of your life, it's a lot easier to keep them compartmentalized if you run them through different communications systems. Like, if I was a kinkster in the late 90s (I wasn't), you're danged right I would rather use one network to communicate with that community and another to communicate with colleagues at work.
I wonder if AOL has all the AIM traffic archived. They should have, but probably didn't.
Besides potentially being of practical use now for training artificial intelligences, I imagine the ecstasy of an anthropologist or historian 200 years from now (or however long it takes until privacy concerns are irrelevant) who discovers this amazing record of 20 years of everyday casual conversations between millions of people.
No little, teeny, wee, barely noticeable, hardly-worth-mentioning issues you can think of with that?
posted by praemunire at 1:18 PM on October 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
If you have compartmentalized aspects of your life, it's a lot easier to keep them compartmentalized if you run them through different communications systems. Like, if I was a kinkster in the late 90s (I wasn't), you're danged right I would rather use one network to communicate with that community and another to communicate with colleagues at work.
I wonder if AOL has all the AIM traffic archived. They should have, but probably didn't.
Besides potentially being of practical use now for training artificial intelligences, I imagine the ecstasy of an anthropologist or historian 200 years from now (or however long it takes until privacy concerns are irrelevant) who discovers this amazing record of 20 years of everyday casual conversations between millions of people.
No little, teeny, wee, barely noticeable, hardly-worth-mentioning issues you can think of with that?
posted by praemunire at 1:18 PM on October 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
AIM was a godsend for us socially awkward types. I remember talking to classmates over AIM who I was far too painfully shy to approach in real life and overall I think those conversations did help to break me out of my shell a bit. Oh how I long for a new AIM...
posted by downtohisturtles at 1:20 PM on October 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 1:20 PM on October 6, 2017 [6 favorites]
.
posted by limeonaire at 1:22 PM on October 6, 2017
posted by limeonaire at 1:22 PM on October 6, 2017
I still can't believe we don't have a free, non-paywall, inter-platform, standardized and widely adopted IM platform by now. Seems like a basic service, but we're stuck choosing between a bunch of crappy non-compatible services. It's been 20 years!
(or what SansPoint said)
posted by Popular Ethics at 1:22 PM on October 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
(or what SansPoint said)
posted by Popular Ethics at 1:22 PM on October 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
My friend will finally stop bugging me to get AIM.
posted by Splunge at 1:25 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Splunge at 1:25 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Re: Adium, you can still use it for IRC, y'know, if you're into that sort of thing.
posted by limeonaire at 1:26 PM on October 6, 2017
posted by limeonaire at 1:26 PM on October 6, 2017
If email has shown everyone one thing, it's that there's no money in being the service provider for interoperable communications platforms. :P
posted by Aleyn at 1:26 PM on October 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Aleyn at 1:26 PM on October 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
limeonaire: But Adium’s IRC implementation suuuuuucks!
posted by SansPoint at 1:28 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by SansPoint at 1:28 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
The weird thing for me is that, in school, I had pretty much a separate set of AIM friends from school friends. Like there were people I'd talk to at school, have lunch with, do stuff with outside of school, etc..., and then there was a separate group of people I would talk to like nightly on AIM but not really talk to very much in person. I'm not entirely sure how this came to be, some of it was an extension of AIM chats with classmates about homework, but yeah, AIM used to be a big part of my life.
Anyway, grumble grumble, talk/ytalk still work, right? That was my first chat platform, even if I mainly used it to talk to people in the same computer lab as me.
posted by zachlipton at 1:30 PM on October 6, 2017
Anyway, grumble grumble, talk/ytalk still work, right? That was my first chat platform, even if I mainly used it to talk to people in the same computer lab as me.
posted by zachlipton at 1:30 PM on October 6, 2017
No little, teeny, wee, barely noticeable, hardly-worth-mentioning issues you can think of with that?
Besides the privacy issue I mentioned? I dunno, make it 500 years in the future. Or 1000.
posted by jjwiseman at 1:37 PM on October 6, 2017
Besides the privacy issue I mentioned? I dunno, make it 500 years in the future. Or 1000.
posted by jjwiseman at 1:37 PM on October 6, 2017
Not AIM per se, but I recall my first forays into the forums in AOL's walled garden and taking about a month to realise that people posting "IM me!" weren't just bizarrely self-confident. I was rather an odd person back then.
Also recall the sense of awe at it being possible to chat in the AM to people on all the other sides of the planet.
Also the AOL charges for miscalculated over-runs of the free time that could have bought a moderately decent second hand car.
posted by Buntix at 1:37 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also recall the sense of awe at it being possible to chat in the AM to people on all the other sides of the planet.
Also the AOL charges for miscalculated over-runs of the free time that could have bought a moderately decent second hand car.
posted by Buntix at 1:37 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
AOL also got acquired by Verizon, who are systematically winding down the vast majority of AOL's products, and laying off most of the staff.
That seemed to accelerate with the yahoo deal.
I mostly stopped using AIM way back when because it was too easy to social engineer into people's accounts, and myspace tom's was constantly compromised for a while before all of us that had a reason to talk to him about professional matters switched to something else.
posted by flaterik at 1:46 PM on October 6, 2017
That seemed to accelerate with the yahoo deal.
I mostly stopped using AIM way back when because it was too easy to social engineer into people's accounts, and myspace tom's was constantly compromised for a while before all of us that had a reason to talk to him about professional matters switched to something else.
posted by flaterik at 1:46 PM on October 6, 2017
End of an era.
posted by Bob Regular at 1:51 PM on October 6, 2017
posted by Bob Regular at 1:51 PM on October 6, 2017
.
for that goddamn message sent/message received sound which will haunt my dreams due to college roommates chatting for hours with their girlfriends at 3 in the damn morning and not muting the damn speakers
posted by Existential Dread at 1:56 PM on October 6, 2017 [5 favorites]
for that goddamn message sent/message received sound which will haunt my dreams due to college roommates chatting for hours with their girlfriends at 3 in the damn morning and not muting the damn speakers
posted by Existential Dread at 1:56 PM on October 6, 2017 [5 favorites]
It's my personal opinion that people who participated the AIM era of electronic communication really accelerated adoption of both SMS and Slack-type group chats.
I asked my wife out over AIM. We're been married more than 10 years now.
posted by sleeping bear at 1:58 PM on October 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
I asked my wife out over AIM. We're been married more than 10 years now.
posted by sleeping bear at 1:58 PM on October 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
Aww.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 2:00 PM on October 6, 2017
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 2:00 PM on October 6, 2017
Besides the privacy issue I mentioned? I dunno, make it 500 years in the future. Or 1000.
Simply having all that data available now is (or would be) a privacy problem now.
posted by praemunire at 2:11 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Simply having all that data available now is (or would be) a privacy problem now.
posted by praemunire at 2:11 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Fucking hell! I am using AIM right now. Yes, I'm old and tired of the constant updating and deprecation of every program I use. I don't have a goddam phone. Just my 2012 Mac Pro tower which I hope to keep going until I die. What the hell simple and free IM will I use now?
posted by a humble nudibranch at 2:18 PM on October 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 2:18 PM on October 6, 2017 [4 favorites]
ICQ? You mean like a phone number but longer? You can actually use letters for your AOL Instant Messenger account! C'mon, man, get with it!
Oh, the quest for the perfect custom away message, so as to impress that cute girl who wanted to share calculus notes! Oh, the quest for the perfect handle, which would start the long process to self-actualization! I had two perfect handles—one for college where I was a presence in a student media organization, and one for when I graduated and moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2001. I'm still in Los Angeles, and I still have my name, so I guess that one worked well?
AIM was where my buddies and I talked through 9/11 together (because cell minutes were still expensive). AIM was where my brother and I talked through our grandfather's pancreatic cancer and death. AIM was crucial in helping me and my Xennial cohort learn to casually communicate clearly and effectively.
I thought the last time I had used AIM was in early 2003 when I tried to ask out a buddy while discussing and commiserating about her with two other buddies (I was rightfully rejected). BUT it turns out that, oh yeah, my department at work used it from 2007-2011, I used it daily with my wife during that time, and really only stopped using it as recently as five years ago, when my new workplace was bought and the new owners had IT block AIM in favor of Basecamp, Google, and other enterprise options. I'd just completely forgotten about it once it was no longer an option at work and Facebook stepped up.
So hats off to my intern from 2012, who is my last AIM Buddy ever.
posted by infinitewindow at 2:26 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh, the quest for the perfect custom away message, so as to impress that cute girl who wanted to share calculus notes! Oh, the quest for the perfect handle, which would start the long process to self-actualization! I had two perfect handles—one for college where I was a presence in a student media organization, and one for when I graduated and moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2001. I'm still in Los Angeles, and I still have my name, so I guess that one worked well?
AIM was where my buddies and I talked through 9/11 together (because cell minutes were still expensive). AIM was where my brother and I talked through our grandfather's pancreatic cancer and death. AIM was crucial in helping me and my Xennial cohort learn to casually communicate clearly and effectively.
I thought the last time I had used AIM was in early 2003 when I tried to ask out a buddy while discussing and commiserating about her with two other buddies (I was rightfully rejected). BUT it turns out that, oh yeah, my department at work used it from 2007-2011, I used it daily with my wife during that time, and really only stopped using it as recently as five years ago, when my new workplace was bought and the new owners had IT block AIM in favor of Basecamp, Google, and other enterprise options. I'd just completely forgotten about it once it was no longer an option at work and Facebook stepped up.
So hats off to my intern from 2012, who is my last AIM Buddy ever.
posted by infinitewindow at 2:26 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Going to export my feeds from AOL Reader, which seems to be abandonware (no tweets since 2016; support forums are just spam).
posted by stevil at 2:46 PM on October 6, 2017
posted by stevil at 2:46 PM on October 6, 2017
I still use AIM at work, where only the Director of Ops and the head io the Windows server team use Lync or Skype Chat For Businessy Enterprises or whatever it's called.
posted by wenestvedt at 4:47 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by wenestvedt at 4:47 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
We'll always have that Napster copy of "All the Things She Said" where you could hear the AIM sound effect going off on the ripper's computer.
That song played a larger role in my psychosexual development than it ever deserved, and I had that EXACT copy and haven't thought of it in years, so I'll just be staring at a wall reliving the early 2000's tonight, I guess.
(It was a HUGE DEAL when my family got an internet-capable computer and AOL when I was in high school and I could finally chat with my boyfriend over AIM. I definitely remember using the online light version to chat with people while at work through about 2006? Later? Now I pretty much only use Facebook Messenger and Tumblr chat, both of which are the actual worst things in the entire world, so an extra RIP AIM. You were usable, and I could collect Deep and Meaningful Quotes to use as away messages.)
posted by kalimac at 5:16 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
That song played a larger role in my psychosexual development than it ever deserved, and I had that EXACT copy and haven't thought of it in years, so I'll just be staring at a wall reliving the early 2000's tonight, I guess.
(It was a HUGE DEAL when my family got an internet-capable computer and AOL when I was in high school and I could finally chat with my boyfriend over AIM. I definitely remember using the online light version to chat with people while at work through about 2006? Later? Now I pretty much only use Facebook Messenger and Tumblr chat, both of which are the actual worst things in the entire world, so an extra RIP AIM. You were usable, and I could collect Deep and Meaningful Quotes to use as away messages.)
posted by kalimac at 5:16 PM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
OK. As someone who's been involved with the internet since before there was a World Wide Web...
IT'S YTALK WITH A DATABASE ARCHIVAL BACK END, A MODERATELY GOOD LARGE SCALE DIRECTORY, AND A SLICK GUI FRONT-END CLIENT! IT IS! IT JUST IIIIIIIS!
Nyargh gnorf roar sworffle!
And you know? And you know? WhatsApp is ALSO ytalk with a database archival back end, a moderately good large scale directory system, and a slick GUI front end, but! Here's the secret sauce, they bribed the ISPs in countries without Net Neutrality so where the only thing you can do without paying Arm + Leg with your phone, after paying for bandwidth, is in WhatsApp Space.
Sometimes, maybe just sometimes, the Network Effect is an inescapable tyranny rather than a great equalizer.
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:16 PM on October 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
IT'S YTALK WITH A DATABASE ARCHIVAL BACK END, A MODERATELY GOOD LARGE SCALE DIRECTORY, AND A SLICK GUI FRONT-END CLIENT! IT IS! IT JUST IIIIIIIS!
Nyargh gnorf roar sworffle!
And you know? And you know? WhatsApp is ALSO ytalk with a database archival back end, a moderately good large scale directory system, and a slick GUI front end, but! Here's the secret sauce, they bribed the ISPs in countries without Net Neutrality so where the only thing you can do without paying Arm + Leg with your phone, after paying for bandwidth, is in WhatsApp Space.
Sometimes, maybe just sometimes, the Network Effect is an inescapable tyranny rather than a great equalizer.
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:16 PM on October 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
Also, Slack is IRC with a database backend, a moderately good directory system, and a slick front-end client. IT'S IRCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC....
Nyargh gnorf roar sworffle!
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:23 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Nyargh gnorf roar sworffle!
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:23 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
I went straight from talk to IRC, but missed the 1:1 and then PowWow for convenience. So ICQ and AIM left me underwhelmed when they came along a few years later. Still annoyed that ICQ (and so then AOL after purchase) could get patents for IMing after CU-SeeMe did it years earlier.
posted by meehawl at 8:33 PM on October 6, 2017
posted by meehawl at 8:33 PM on October 6, 2017
.
I met some pretty amazing people through AIM, some of whom became good friends IRL.
posted by TwoStride at 8:37 PM on October 6, 2017
I met some pretty amazing people through AIM, some of whom became good friends IRL.
posted by TwoStride at 8:37 PM on October 6, 2017
I have one regular friend with whom AIM is our primary, regular method of contact. I have one other friend who appears there occasionally. Other than that, my entire contact list is dead.
I guess I'll have to find an alternate conversation method with my main AIM friend, who was my best friend in college and with whom I've been in constant touch since the late 80s.
posted by hippybear at 9:38 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
I guess I'll have to find an alternate conversation method with my main AIM friend, who was my best friend in college and with whom I've been in constant touch since the late 80s.
posted by hippybear at 9:38 PM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Lync or Skype Chat For Businessy Enterprises or whatever it's called.
MS announced this week they are killing Skype for Business and folding its features into their Slack clone, Microsoft Teams. So that’s two IM clients Slack killed this week
posted by eyeballkid at 10:55 PM on October 6, 2017
MS announced this week they are killing Skype for Business and folding its features into their Slack clone, Microsoft Teams. So that’s two IM clients Slack killed this week
posted by eyeballkid at 10:55 PM on October 6, 2017
In a fit of nostalgia I logged in to AIM and sent farewell salvos and wished best of luck to those were dilgently still online or had configured AIM to forward messages to their phone.
I was sending in to the void only to have my internet girlfriend when I was 14 message me back after not talking for over a decade. I'd convinced myself she wasn't actually real and instead was a figment. An odd conversation.
I also sent a message to someone I met in Worms World Party game chat. We'd talked on and off for years but eventually lost touch. I never knew his name, but he made a younger me feel welcome and among my peers on the internet. He never did quite sell me on the WoTMUD though. I didn't hear back.
I've since pulled away and don't engage on the internet like I did when I was younger. It's probably age, perhaps novelty, but the web seemed easier to connect when it was harder. I'm less open and more jaded.
It's harder to find that now, for me, but at least I don't need to establish a direct connection to send a photo.
posted by EsotericAlgorithm at 12:15 AM on October 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I was sending in to the void only to have my internet girlfriend when I was 14 message me back after not talking for over a decade. I'd convinced myself she wasn't actually real and instead was a figment. An odd conversation.
I also sent a message to someone I met in Worms World Party game chat. We'd talked on and off for years but eventually lost touch. I never knew his name, but he made a younger me feel welcome and among my peers on the internet. He never did quite sell me on the WoTMUD though. I didn't hear back.
I've since pulled away and don't engage on the internet like I did when I was younger. It's probably age, perhaps novelty, but the web seemed easier to connect when it was harder. I'm less open and more jaded.
It's harder to find that now, for me, but at least I don't need to establish a direct connection to send a photo.
posted by EsotericAlgorithm at 12:15 AM on October 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I just went and read some messages from aim. I saved them as text files. Here's one part of a convo I found.
Ms. Moonlight says: The boy i like is on
Ms. Moonlight says: and I do stress BOY
DC says: so
Ms. Moonlight says: Feel awkward talking to him
Ms. Moonlight says: he's acting funny
DC says: talk to him
Ms. Moonlight says: I did
Ms. Moonlight says: he didn't seem interested
DC says: everyone seems unintrested on the internet
No truer words my friend. I wish I was still in contact with these people. In fact, I had a LOT of online friends and now I have almost none -- I miss those days.
(My username was changed above, and half of the other person's username was chopped off to protect privacy.)
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 3:31 AM on October 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ms. Moonlight says: The boy i like is on
Ms. Moonlight says: and I do stress BOY
DC says: so
Ms. Moonlight says: Feel awkward talking to him
Ms. Moonlight says: he's acting funny
DC says: talk to him
Ms. Moonlight says: I did
Ms. Moonlight says: he didn't seem interested
DC says: everyone seems unintrested on the internet
No truer words my friend. I wish I was still in contact with these people. In fact, I had a LOT of online friends and now I have almost none -- I miss those days.
(My username was changed above, and half of the other person's username was chopped off to protect privacy.)
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 3:31 AM on October 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
Found out I don't like indicators or signals that I have *online* status in these things, so I dropped this one earlier than others, regardless of filters|blocks|etc. The more people you add the more complicated it gets to enable|disable this status for particulars. Introvert.
posted by filtergik at 4:15 AM on October 7, 2017
posted by filtergik at 4:15 AM on October 7, 2017
Like some of the other commenters here, online friends were a huge part of my adolescence, and a way to connect to a world outside of the soulless, conservative suburb where I grew up. I haven't kept in touch with any of the people I spent so much time with on AOL chatrooms, the Yahoo music chatroom, and AIM, and it too makes me nostalgic to think about. Like EsotericAlgorithm, I pulled away from that world sometime around college and the advent of Facebook, but I have very fond memories.
posted by nonmerci at 5:33 AM on October 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by nonmerci at 5:33 AM on October 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
filtergik's comment reminded me that you could ghost for specific people -- appear to never be online for them. I distinctly remember ghosting a guy I knew in HS for being super obnoxious, and him somehow figuring it out (creating a new name and checking?) and sending a cranky message.
Reader, two decades later, I banned him on Facebook for posting a vile comment to a post I made about Standing Rock.
posted by kalimac at 6:17 AM on October 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
Reader, two decades later, I banned him on Facebook for posting a vile comment to a post I made about Standing Rock.
posted by kalimac at 6:17 AM on October 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
Stephen Ramsay reminisces about having once met Colin Steele, one of the lead architects and developers of AIM.
posted by metaquarry at 6:53 AM on October 7, 2017
posted by metaquarry at 6:53 AM on October 7, 2017
Quoting myself from another thread, I loved using AIM during conference calls when those of us on the same team were scattered around the country. It enabled us to strategize in real time without the other party/ies being the wiser. We nicknamed one guy "Phil," because he was so great at filling the air with words while we IM'd each other responses. Example:
Client: How much will that cost?
Phil: Well, we're going to have to consider [blah blah blah blah blah]...
Simultaneous IM: $15K? Too high? I say $20K. Client's a jerk. Plus XMas. OK? OK, but if he balks, drop to $18. OK.
Phil: So, without having thought about it in detail, I'm going to say $20K.
posted by carmicha at 1:00 PM on October 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
Client: How much will that cost?
Phil: Well, we're going to have to consider [blah blah blah blah blah]...
Simultaneous IM: $15K? Too high? I say $20K. Client's a jerk. Plus XMas. OK? OK, but if he balks, drop to $18. OK.
Phil: So, without having thought about it in detail, I'm going to say $20K.
posted by carmicha at 1:00 PM on October 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
.
posted by Going To Maine at 2:31 PM on October 7, 2017
posted by Going To Maine at 2:31 PM on October 7, 2017
But as for me, I wish that I was anywhere with anyone
Making out.
~~~~~~*~*~*~~~~~~~ .
I will say, 2001-me would be very proud of the fact that i have indeed made out with a person since the days of this as my "profile" (I didn't even really like dashboard confessional that much! It was just the most passive-aggressive way possible to allude publicly to my deep dark secret wish that I would kiss a boy someday!)
posted by augustimagination at 2:49 PM on October 8, 2017
Making out.
~~~~~~*~*~*~~~~~~~ .
I will say, 2001-me would be very proud of the fact that i have indeed made out with a person since the days of this as my "profile" (I didn't even really like dashboard confessional that much! It was just the most passive-aggressive way possible to allude publicly to my deep dark secret wish that I would kiss a boy someday!)
posted by augustimagination at 2:49 PM on October 8, 2017
Oh man. I have IRL friends to this day that I met via AIM. Anyone feel like sharing their stupid teenage screennames?
Mine was "AnEggNamedBob." Because the first time I ever went into a chat room, at the tender age of 12, I immediately--without a moment's hesitation--chose the moniker "Bob The Egg" for reasons lost to time, and it stuck with me.
posted by duffell at 11:18 AM on October 9, 2017
Mine was "AnEggNamedBob." Because the first time I ever went into a chat room, at the tender age of 12, I immediately--without a moment's hesitation--chose the moniker "Bob The Egg" for reasons lost to time, and it stuck with me.
posted by duffell at 11:18 AM on October 9, 2017
My original AIM Screenname was Crooow139.
Yes, I was (and still am) an MST3k fan, even if I'm not involved with the fandom much these days.
posted by SansPoint at 11:30 AM on October 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yes, I was (and still am) an MST3k fan, even if I'm not involved with the fandom much these days.
posted by SansPoint at 11:30 AM on October 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
This New Yorker article on AIM's passing is interesting.
posted by thursdaystoo at 10:44 AM on October 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by thursdaystoo at 10:44 AM on October 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by potrzebie at 11:38 AM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]