AIM is shutting down and I refuse to join HYDRA.

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > AIM is shutting down and I refuse to join HYDRA.

Mutant Headcrab: May 14, 2007

They're finally pulling the life-support on M.O.D.O.C. (Machine Organism Designed Only for Chatting).

I hope the money goes towards something more useful, like a new Cosmic Cube or making outfits that don't look like safety conscious beekeepers.

# ? Oct 7, 2017 03:01

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# ? May 27, 2024 08:34

barnold: Dec 16, 2011; what do u do when yuo're born to play fps? guess there's nothing left to do but play fps. boom headshot

some guy created a private server for MSN, it's called Escargot MSN and is more or less run by the same guy that coded the Messenger Reviver

go download a pre-patched installer and let's send each other nudges, fuckers

# ? Oct 7, 2017 03:11

Agent Escalus: Oct 5, 2002; "I couldn't stop saying aloud how miscast Jim Carrey was!"

It's remarkable how so many of the companies who were at the forefront of the rise of the internet in general society just completely shot themselves in the foot due to lack of foresight/innovation/long-term thinking/etc. Prodigy, CompuServe, Yahoo, AOL, GeoCities, and far too many more to list. (GameSpy too, if we're being generous?) Google didn't come around until right before the dotcom bubble burst, Microsoft dodged (or endured) multiple bullets thanks to their productivity software and upgrade sales and the fact that Windows had such a strong foothold that it didn't matter if they botched a release, and Apple barely made it through the tough years thanks to Gates lending a financial hand (no matter how much Apple diehards like to pretend that wasn't a factor).

I never used AIM (or IRC/ICQ) because all my early days of online communication were through mailing lists and even that took up too much time but there's no denying that it had the branding and user base to be the de facto method of social media before the term existed, but see above. They muddled about instead of innovating and while MySpace briefly was a thing, Facebook and Twitter kicked all others to the curb and annihilated their predecessors. AIM and MSN Messenger *could* have, and done so easily just by building on their userbase of hardcores and enthusiasts.

# ? Oct 7, 2017 05:29

mind the walrus: Sep 22, 2006

Ah AIM. I remembered when tabbed windows hit that. Good loving riddance.

# ? Oct 7, 2017 05:32

Xaris: Jul 25, 2006; Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

Agent Escalus posted:

It's remarkable how so many of the companies who were at the forefront of the rise of the internet in general society just completely shot themselves in the foot due to lack of foresight/innovation/long-term thinking/etc. Prodigy, CompuServe, Yahoo, AOL, GeoCities, and far too many more to list. (GameSpy too, if we're being generous?) Google didn't come around until right before the dotcom bubble burst, Microsoft dodged (or endured) multiple bullets thanks to their productivity software and upgrade sales and the fact that Windows had such a strong foothold that it didn't matter if they botched a release, and Apple barely made it through the tough years thanks to Gates lending a financial hand (no matter how much Apple diehards like to pretend that wasn't a factor).

Eh, it also didn't help that AOL clung onto 56k while DSL and Cable were skyrocketing. But they probably didn't have much a choice really, as soon as Comcast and AT&T figured out they could just sell that poo poo themselves for mega-buckos, it was going to die. There was no reason to go 3rd-party lines once the dial-up days were dead. I really doubt much foresight could have saved their internet operations, short of trying to buy out Comcast and other cable networks en-mass but they likely couldn't have done that even if they wanted.

They actually lasted along time on their other holdings because they had a lot of advertising and media holdings.

# ? Oct 7, 2017 05:37

Regrettable: Jan 5, 2010

# ? Oct 7, 2017 06:15

burial: Sep 13, 2002; actually, that won't be necessary.

It actually saddens me a bit that AIM will be no more. It's always logged in, but there's hardly anyone on anymore. In that sense, I get it. On the other hand, it played what was arguably way too big a part in the story of my young life and I'll always be nostalgic for it.

# ? Oct 7, 2017 08:00

mind the walrus: Sep 22, 2006

Whoa there were still people on? I haven't had an AIM conversation since W. Bush was president.

# ? Oct 7, 2017 08:02

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

Fluffy Bunnies posted:

it's fuckin dumb. Let me pay your $10 server fee yearly so everybody can still use a completely outdated instant messenger that's 20 years old that a surprising amount of people still use. Like drat.

theyve never exactly been the height of efficacy

# ? Oct 7, 2017 08:03

burial: Sep 13, 2002; actually, that won't be necessary.

mind the walrus posted:

Whoa there were still people on? I haven't had an AIM conversation since W. Bush was president.

Yep! Out of however many people were originally on my list, there are consistently 3-8 people "online" when I actually use the computer that's permanently logged in. Every once in awhile I even send a message! Even when I could text them!

# ? Oct 7, 2017 08:14

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

kinda bummed out tbh. aim used to own back when i had friends and wasnt a raging alcoholic. when they bury flash in 2020 or 2019 or whatever its gonna be end of an era

# ? Oct 7, 2017 08:37

BrutalistMcDonalds: Oct 4, 2012; Lipstick Apathy

I communicate exclusively through Second Life.

# ? Oct 7, 2017 09:32

Blazing Ownager: Jun 2, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

BrutalistMcDonalds posted:

I communicate exclusively through Second Life.

Well gently caress, you're only going to be able to get ahold of me on a TinyMUX or IRC.

# ? Oct 7, 2017 09:47

MY PALE GOTH SKIN: Nov 28, 2006; meow

Oh no how will I get ahold of the 1500 people I used to talk to at some point in the past 18 years and have no desire to ever speak to again

# ? Oct 7, 2017 10:17

super sweet best pal: Nov 18, 2009

fruit on the bottom posted:

Wasn't AIM originally just a front to disguise the reconstituted HYDRA?

They were an R&D division that eventually splintered off and became their own thing.

# ? Oct 7, 2017 10:41

mind the walrus: Sep 22, 2006

MY PALE GOTH SKIN posted:

Oh no how will I get ahold of the 1500 people I used to talk to at some point in the past 18 years and have no desire to ever speak to again

Friendster

# ? Oct 7, 2017 10:47

The_Franz: Aug 8, 2003

Uncle at Nintendo posted:

Funny that this happened right around the time AOL decided that they are charging $5 a month just to use the AOL desktop software (yes even if you are using it with your cable internet). I predict absolutely nobody will be using anything AOL related after this.

You'd be surprised: AOL still has 2+ million people paying $20 a month for the full dialup access plan, although most of those are probably old people who pay that on top of their cable or DSL bill because they don't know any better. I don't know how anyone can actually use 56k these days when even just checking email is painfully slow on a 2G EDGE connection, and that's still at least 2x 56k speeds.

# ? Oct 7, 2017 11:00

ditty bout my clitty: May 28, 2011; by FactsAreUseless; Fun Shoe

I'm a m.e.r.c guy myself

# ? Oct 7, 2017 12:25

Prude: Nov 28, 2010; by Reene

FisheyStix posted:

Good news discord exists

# ? Oct 7, 2017 13:07

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

FaradayCage posted:

Well, hello there.

Just seeing this makes me instantly want to drop everything and play it, but I bet you knew that when you posted it

NihilismNow posted:

ICQ still exists. Why would anyone need anything but ICQ and IRC. 50 year old greybeards have the best conversation anyway.

Wait people still use ICQ too? drat, this is blowing my mind. I thought everyone migrated to Google Talk by the mid-2000s

I think literally every person I actually cared about who I talked to on ICQ was either on Google Talk or MySpace/Facebook by 2004; here I thought I was hardcore all these years but it turns out all you lunatics were still using 1990s chat programs so I tip my cyber-hat to you all

# ? Oct 7, 2017 14:37

The_Franz: Aug 8, 2003

Dr. Quarex posted:

Just seeing this makes me instantly want to drop everything and play it, but I bet you knew that when you posted it

Wait people still use ICQ too? drat, this is blowing my mind. I thought everyone migrated to Google Talk by the mid-2000s

I think literally every person I actually cared about who I talked to on ICQ was either on Google Talk or MySpace/Facebook by 2004; here I thought I was hardcore all these years but it turns out all you lunatics were still using 1990s chat programs so I tip my cyber-hat to you all

Apparently it's popular in Russia and it seems that in 2017 people are willing to pay money (hundreds of dollars) for 5 or 6 digit ICQ numbers.

# ? Oct 7, 2017 16:00

Father Wendigo: Sep 28, 2005; This is, sadly, more important to me than bettering myself.

Horseshoe theory posted:

Tony Stark is a super villain, so checks out.

https://twitter.com/Marvel/status/916522128811413504

Welp,

# ? Oct 7, 2017 22:03

mind the walrus: Sep 22, 2006

The_Franz posted:

You'd be surprised: AOL still has 2+ million people paying $20 a month for the full dialup access plan, although most of those are probably old people who pay that on top of their cable or DSL bill because they don't know any better. I don't know how anyone can actually use 56k these days when even just checking email is painfully slow on a 2G EDGE connection, and that's still at least 2x 56k speeds.

Part of that has to be people in remote areas where phone lines are the only infrastructure.

# ? Oct 8, 2017 05:00

That Robot: Sep 16, 2004; ask me anything about robots; Buglord

[quote="�Father Wendigo�" post="�477154347�"]
https://twitter.com/Marvel/status/916522128811413504

Welp,
[/quote]

lmao what did they think would happen

# ? Oct 8, 2017 06:40

proof of concept: Mar 6, 2005; by FactsAreUseless

yet another reminder that I'm getting old

# ? Oct 8, 2017 07:10

Father Wendigo: Sep 28, 2005; This is, sadly, more important to me than bettering myself.

That Robot posted:

lmao what did they think would happen

Dude, they were going to have the Avengers team up with Northrop-Grumman's superhero team, NGEN, or Nortrhop Grummen Elite Nexus, with members like

... you know what, never mind, I have no idea what they thought would happen either.

# ? Oct 9, 2017 03:41

mind the walrus: Sep 22, 2006

Someone offered Ike Perlmutter a check with 6 zeroes for "a few ads" and "a promo comic."

# ? Oct 9, 2017 03:52

Speleothing: May 6, 2008; Spare batteries are pretty key.

LGD posted:

hey OP join the good guys at IRL Stark Industries

Are they somehow worse than Lockheed Martin?

# ? Oct 9, 2017 14:33

Secular Humanist: Mar 1, 2016; by Smythe

this legit makes me sad.... sigh.

oh the memories of highschool and getting ahold of girls screennames via some weird convoluted means and then still being too nervous to even send them an im

# ? Oct 9, 2017 18:45

BovineFury: Oct 28, 2007; I moo for great justice!

This is it.

"AOL System Msg
Final reminder: Effective tomorrow, December 15, 2017, AIM will no longer work and you will not be able to sign into any AIM software or apps. Thank you for being an AIM user - we loved working on this product for you. Learn more here: https://help.aol.com/articles/aim-discontinued."

# ? Dec 14, 2017 22:54

Xaris: Jul 25, 2006; Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

BovineFury posted:

This is it.

"AOL System Msg
Final reminder: Effective tomorrow, December 15, 2017, AIM will no longer work and you will not be able to sign into any AIM software or apps. Thank you for being an AIM user - we loved working on this product for you. Learn more here: https://help.aol.com/articles/aim-discontinued."

Yep, I actually couldn't login to aim starting Tuesday night so I thought it was dead.

RIP memories and that creaking door sound slamming shut

# ? Dec 14, 2017 22:59

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

man i logged in like yesterday evening and it was predictably dead as gently caress. it was depressing

# ? Dec 14, 2017 23:05

Autism Sneaks: Nov 21, 2016

RIP my cybering chat logs from when I was a dumb teen

# ? Dec 14, 2017 23:06

Weaponized Autism: Mar 26, 2006; All aboard the Gravy train!; Hair Elf

End of an era.

# ? Dec 14, 2017 23:06

Xaris: Jul 25, 2006; Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

Autism Sneaks posted:

RIP my cybering chat logs from when I was a dumb teen

they should still be saved if you used anything but the ofifcial client. i probably have a lot of deadaim/trillian/digsby logs all over the place, the latter definitely but i think i have to pull out an old 2gb maxtor to find the really old 98-05 ones, if it even runs.

# ? Dec 14, 2017 23:08

Autism Sneaks: Nov 21, 2016

Usenet still going strong!

# ? Dec 14, 2017 23:08

Agent Escalus: Oct 5, 2002; "I couldn't stop saying aloud how miscast Jim Carrey was!"

Autism Sneaks posted:

Usenet still going strong!

Kind of amazing, but then again ham radios never went away either. Guess some technology is just low-tech enough to endure and survive?

# ? Dec 14, 2017 23:36

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

go to https://www.aim.com

# ? Dec 15, 2017 07:59

say no to bats: Aug 15, 2001; Rumblee tumblee, climin' a hunny tree

I still used this but I could count on one finger the number of people I still talk to on it more than once or twice a year (or every couple years)

Oddly enough both of us made our SNs back in 1997 so yeah.

RIP

# ? Dec 15, 2017 08:56

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# ? May 27, 2024 08:34

BovineFury: Oct 28, 2007; I moo for great justice!

So long old friend. :cry:

# ? Dec 15, 2017 09:08

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > AIM is shutting down and I refuse to join HYDRA.

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