Is Instant Messenger (AIM, MSN, Yahoo, what have you) the pinnacle of human civilization?

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i mean, what's better? it's better than texting! it's better than email! it's almost better than talking! it's so great!

― pete b. (pete b.), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 09:12 (twenty-one years ago)

i thought we all agreed that the pinnacle of human civilisation was that photo of the cat in the pint glass

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 09:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I hate Messenger. I resent so often having half-conversations with distracted, multitasking people. I am sad that who I've kept in contact with from home has depended more on who happens to be online than who I genuinely really liked. I get paranoid I'm being blocked. I should uninstall it right now.

― Cathy (Cathy), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 09:43 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't seem to talk on any IMs much these days. a couple of years back it was a different story and ate up a lot of time (before ILX) but i cultivated good friendships as a result.

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 09:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I didn't even know what an instant messenger was before I read about them here. Talking to ILXors was the sole reason for me downloading AIM this summer, but after trying it a couple of times I found it far too confusing. Admittedly, I only tried the group conversation, not one-on-one. But still, I'll take face-to-face conversation (and message boards) before instant messengers anyday.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 09:54 (twenty-one years ago)

i prefer email to IM, for the most part. it lets both people say what they need to say and get on with other stuff, rather than enforce either half-attention to both IMing and other stuff or only IMing, which can get boring.

― colette (a2lette), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 10:03 (twenty-one years ago)

If you have a thing that doesn't flash/pop-up when someone messages you, messaging can be nicely unobtrusive. Gaim is good for this.

― Sexual Air Supply (Autumn Almanac), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 10:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Although, it's ruddy annoying when people expect you to reply within 12 seconds and crack the shits if you don't.

(21:07.17) hello
(21:07.29) HELLO PLS RESPOND
(21:07.34) ANYONE THERE
(21:07.41) HELLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOO

&c.

― Sexual Air Supply (Autumn Almanac), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 10:07 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't expect people to respond quickly. a good, funny IM conversation is a thing of beauty - it offers comic possibilities that aren't available to clunky old email.

work would be unbearable without it - how did people cope in the old days?

― pete b. (pete b.), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 10:50 (twenty-one years ago)

they worked, i suspect

― jess (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 10:51 (twenty-one years ago)

MSN Messenger was already installed on my work computer when I got it. Is it worth using or should I be trying something else?

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 11:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I use MSN at work, Madchen - let's interconnect!

― Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 12:08 (twenty-one years ago)

madchen_in_uniform

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 12:09 (twenty-one years ago)

i use all of them, and my username is akmonday on all of them as well; I know trayce uses msn messenger also.

I kind of hate the MSN Messenger application. How do you uninstall it? They won't let you, not if you have outlook installed also.

I use IM a lot more these days than I have in many years (I used ICQ a lot when it first came out, but I don't think anyone uses it anymore).

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 12:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I do wonder, every now and then, how people could bear work without IM, e-mails, web, online games (yeah, I don't have any work ethics...).
same with mobile phones etc.
did the past really exist, actually ?

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 13:48 (twenty-one years ago)

AIM is great if only for my late night conversations with Ronan. I would publish a book of them but we would probably get sued.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 14:08 (twenty-one years ago)

how dare you have fun without me!

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 14:08 (twenty-one years ago)

if i'm on a computer, home or work, msn messenger is running. it comes with ms office so the boss here can't even really give me merde about having on the machine. plus it lets me know when i receive junk mail to my hotmail.

― dysøn (dyson), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 14:11 (twenty-one years ago)

i had a short lived band that used AIM to message/discuss with, and to bounce music files back and forth

― kephm, Wednesday, 15 September 2004 14:18 (twenty-one years ago)

AIM rules.

― Ronan (Ronan), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 14:20 (twenty-one years ago)

i prefer phone calls to AIM because it's more likely the other person is talking to you and you alone on the phone (although they can be on AIM at the same time i guess, or be sign languaging or something.)

being on AIM at the same time as having a phone call with the same person = total classic.

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 14:21 (twenty-one years ago)

the pinnacle of civilization is being able to AIM on my cell phone (one day my phone will even have enough memory to do it right).

― stockholm cindy, montessori emo superstar (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 14:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I use MSN Messenger. The only ilxor I used to talk to on it is Dom, although he hasn't been around on it for ages (possibly a couple of years! OMG! WTF!)

Quite often I'll come home from work, switch on my computer and find all my work colleagues are the only ppl who are logged into it! So I end p talking to ppl I've been talking to in person an hour or so earlier.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 18:55 (twenty-one years ago)

actually I've just remembered I do sometimes talk to Ken on MSN Messenger as well.

But not one of my contacts is logged on right now.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 18:56 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't like AIM that much, I can't think of anything to say or just talk rubbish + no one talks to me in the 1 minute interval between logging on and off. I think my chatting days are over, it's a youngsters game.

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 18:57 (twenty-one years ago)

i always mean to try this but never have. does it matter if you type very slowly?
(xp - ew youngsters ok nevermind)

― jones (actual), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

MSN has given us a) slightly passive-aggressive sign-in names and b) the game where you pretend to be typing something really lengthy and thoughtful so that it says 'x is typing a message' for four minutes and then you either just stop or IT WAS THE WORD HORSE 400 TIMES ALL ALONG

― Michael Philip Philip Philip Annoyman (Ferg), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 20:06 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

Does anyone have yahoo messenger set up? I do! It's my yahoo id (first part of my email address). Talk to me. I only have one person in my addy book, and she's a coworker.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 21:25 (twenty years ago)

i do. I will add you later...

for a long time Yahoo messenger was the only IM client that worked behind firewalls, which is still I think the only reason most people use it. . . .

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 22:07 (twenty years ago)

It's easily my favorite.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 22:08 (twenty years ago)

Sarah, do you not have AIM or MSN? I'd like to add you if you do.

― Ol' prune face (Mark C), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 11:43 (twenty years ago)

thirteen years pass...

RIP Yahoo Messenger :(

― the word dog doesn't bark (anagram), Tuesday, 12 June 2018 14:12 (seven years ago)

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