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Appalbarry [appalbarry.ca] writes:

The Guardian [theguardian.com] (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 if 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 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.

Original Submission