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posted by mrpg on Sunday October 08 2017, @03:17AM   Printer-friendly
from the makes-me-feel-old dept.

The Guardian (and likely everyone else) is reporting that AOL is killing off their instant messenger service. For those of us who never quite got the hang of IRC, AOL Messenger (not to mention MSN Messenger at the same time) was a truly fun way to chat with people we knew in an age before smart phones and SMS. And yes, my AOL screen name wound up becoming my default ID almost everywhere.

An article on AOL's website on Friday said AOL Instant Messenger will be discontinued on 15 December. The program will still function until then but after that, users won't be able to sign in and all data will be deleted. AOL says people with an aim.com email address will still be able to use it.

In a blogpost, a spokesman for AOL's parent company explained the platform's demise as the casualty of the evolving way people communicate.

"AIM tapped into new digital technologies and ignited a cultural shift, but the way in which we communicate with each other has profoundly changed," wrote Michael Albers, vice president of communications at Oath.

Launched in 1997, AOL Instant Messenger was at the forefront of what was called at the time the biggest trend in online communication since email.

I for one would happily trade in WhatsApp, Google Chat, and all of the others for a return to AOL Messenger.

Also at USA TODAY: RIP AIM: AOL Instant Messenger dies in December


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by canopic jug on Sunday October 08 2017, @11:12AM

    by canopic jug (3949) Subscriber Badge on Sunday October 08 2017, @11:12AM (#578841) Journal

    Since many are unlikely to wade through the now ancient article from 2001, here is the relevant quote:

    ''The conditions we impose today are forward-looking and fair,'' Mr. Kennard said. ''They preserve the openness of the Internet. They protect consumers and avoid heavy-handed regulation by using a narrowly tailored market-opening approach. And they ensure that neither AOL Time Warner nor a government agency will pick winners and losers in this dynamic marketplace.''

    Last month the Federal Trade Commission approved the merger after the companies agreed to stringent conditions meant to ensure competition in providing Internet services and the interactive television systems of the future.

    Executives of the companies had pledged to open their instant messaging services within a year.

    But F.C.C. officials said that the voluntary commitment of AOL, while laudable, was not enough, and that the order would actually require the company to open its messaging services.

    The companies made it clear that they could live with those demands.

    Source : F.C.C. Approves AOL-Time Warner Deal, With Conditions [nytimes.com] (2001)

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