AOL Instant Messenger, 1997-2017
Friday, October 6th, 2017 11:08![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xkeeperI've been really busy with things; more details on that later.
But something was announced today that is, if not important, then at least worth noting: AIM is being shut down on the 15th of December.
AIM has a place deep in my heart, because — as it was for many people — it was my first true connection to people online. Beyond forums and e-mail, instant messaging was the first real experience I had talking to other people on the internet in a meaningful way. I had a lot of people that I spent a ton of time talking to over the years; even days where I would be awake late into the night just to keep talking. I spent so much time conversing, debating, playing, escaping. It was one of the few things that kept me grounded in a world that was all too much.
As years progressed, more and more people disappeared. They would vanish, never to come online again; we never exchanged other methods of contact, and that was just the end. Eventually, I became one of those people, too, vanishing from the network, leaving some people behind. Even as I had used it for over a decade, building a list of over a hundred accounts, accumulating hundreds of megabytes of chat logs... I disappeared.
Part of it was just that there were new places people were going; MySpace, Twitter, Facebook. Some people moved to IRC, or MSN, or text messages. Even now, there are a wealth of alternative messaging services... Signal, Telegram, Hangouts, Discord, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp; the list can go on forever. But back then, AIM was one of only a small few, and it was the place to be. As time went on, that changed, and people moved on.
...
I signed into my AIM account today after remembering my password (it took a few tries). There are about 5 people on my buddy list still online, all of which I have on Twitter or Telegram. But there are a lot more people who are just gone, people I haven't spoken with in years, and likely never will again.
In some ways, existing on the internet is like living in a neighborhood with people. Sometimes people move away, out of the community and into another one. Maybe you can keep in touch with them if they drop you their new address. Sometimes you move, too, and leave people behind.
But... sometimes, the neighborhood itself is what leaves. And those people still using it are now effectively homeless, their community just... gone.
...
I drive by my old neighborhood every now and then. It's a privilege afforded to me by still living close by, and it makes me nostalgic for the old days; wondering how the people I used to have as neighbors are doing, how the home that I used to live in is doing.
Signing in to AIM one last time is the least I can do.
But something was announced today that is, if not important, then at least worth noting: AIM is being shut down on the 15th of December.
AIM has a place deep in my heart, because — as it was for many people — it was my first true connection to people online. Beyond forums and e-mail, instant messaging was the first real experience I had talking to other people on the internet in a meaningful way. I had a lot of people that I spent a ton of time talking to over the years; even days where I would be awake late into the night just to keep talking. I spent so much time conversing, debating, playing, escaping. It was one of the few things that kept me grounded in a world that was all too much.
As years progressed, more and more people disappeared. They would vanish, never to come online again; we never exchanged other methods of contact, and that was just the end. Eventually, I became one of those people, too, vanishing from the network, leaving some people behind. Even as I had used it for over a decade, building a list of over a hundred accounts, accumulating hundreds of megabytes of chat logs... I disappeared.
Part of it was just that there were new places people were going; MySpace, Twitter, Facebook. Some people moved to IRC, or MSN, or text messages. Even now, there are a wealth of alternative messaging services... Signal, Telegram, Hangouts, Discord, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp; the list can go on forever. But back then, AIM was one of only a small few, and it was the place to be. As time went on, that changed, and people moved on.
...
I signed into my AIM account today after remembering my password (it took a few tries). There are about 5 people on my buddy list still online, all of which I have on Twitter or Telegram. But there are a lot more people who are just gone, people I haven't spoken with in years, and likely never will again.
In some ways, existing on the internet is like living in a neighborhood with people. Sometimes people move away, out of the community and into another one. Maybe you can keep in touch with them if they drop you their new address. Sometimes you move, too, and leave people behind.
But... sometimes, the neighborhood itself is what leaves. And those people still using it are now effectively homeless, their community just... gone.
...
I drive by my old neighborhood every now and then. It's a privilege afforded to me by still living close by, and it makes me nostalgic for the old days; wondering how the people I used to have as neighbors are doing, how the home that I used to live in is doing.
Signing in to AIM one last time is the least I can do.
