AIM Retrospective: RIP 1997-2017 

Correction: Pidgin shouldn't have been grouped in with the other chat services since it's not a separate protocol or anything. It's closer to Trillian in that it lumps a bunch of IM services together into one client. I did, however, use it around the same time as those I listed so it seems I got my memories mixed up, sorry! EDIT: There also seems to be confusion from saying ICQ is a later service than AOL Instant Messenger. While it's true it predated the public AIM launch by several months, AOL's Instant Messenger/Buddy List chat was released with AOL in 1989. AIM was simply the standalone version of the existing chat, which predated ICQ by 7 years.

Well there goes the AOL Subscription I got someone for Christmas.

what memories.... I remember setting up my AOL profile with special coding to make colours, special text and music lyrics.. How times have changed. I'll never forget!

This video made me cry. I miss those days, so much, when I'd come home from school and turn on my computer, download a bunch of MP3s and listen to Shoutcast radio stations or AudioGalaxy. I'd have AIM and ICQ running, mIRC sometimes to find more MP3s and some ROMs. Hanging out in Yahoo Messenger chat rooms, roleplaying in AOL's Star Wars simming chat rooms, talking to my online girlfriend at the time (2 years)... God this was my life, this was my everyday... The internet really feels hollow anymore. Since torrenting is pretty much dead, or so unsafe that it's not even worth it to me anymore... Since there's no ISPs out there with dedicated social areas like AOL's chat rooms and Yahoo messenger's old chat rooms... Or Myspace's forums... Now all the social circles are either toxic or just so fragmented it's hard to keep your ducks in a row. Things were a lot simpler back then when it came to the internet. Everything was so much more together, unified. Now everything's so fragmented... One of the saddest things for me is that I made real friends online back then, had my first love online (we met a bunch of times, went to the prom together), had an online persona as a second life... Yea I was a geek with social anxiety, big surprise. The internet was my life. These days... I get sick of the internet, I feel lonely out there in this cyber ocean. God this nostalgia is hitting me hard, I'll shut up now.

This reminds me of a couple years ago when TWISTED SISTER announced they were breaking up... and I honestly thought they had been broken up for 30 years already.

My first experience with being online was with AOL and then later chatting through AIM as a separate client. It's sad knowing an important part of my life will be no more, but I can't say I will miss it. Like most people, I ended up moving on to other things and the way we communicate has evolved, but I'll always hold on to those memories.

Oh man, this killed me a little inside. AIM and Yahoo messenger were a big part of my teen life. All those late night conversations with friends... Then World of Warcraft came along...

i still use the ICQ "AH OH!" sound as my whatsapp sound. legends never die.

Fun fact! AIM didn't have a file size cap. It was an awesome to share large files with other people for free.

Limewire, boy. That was like having unprotected sex with the internet.

1996-2003 was imo the best years of the internet.. miss the days of simplistic tech.. dialup and chat rooms , aim and yahoo IM. Was cool chatting with strangers or coming up with away messages or whatever. Miss those days..

This video pulled almost every heart string for me as I too grew up and met so many people online with AOL and aim. Looking back at saved chats I realize just how crazy things were as a youngan.... Thanks for the fond memories clint!

That ICQ "Uh-oh!" noise haunts me to this day.

As someone born in 97 it is weird to think how fast the internet evolved. By the time I was allowed online most of these types of services were at least starting to be irrelevant and newer modern services/websites like RU-vid started to take their place. Crazy to think how different my life would be if I was born a few years earlier or later.

I asked my girlfriend, awkwardly, out over AIM. 10 and a half years, one cross country move, three cats and one kid later we are still together.

I was an MSNer and man, I miss it so gosh darn much! Before its death people slowly moved over to Facebook but I never felt comfortable there. It's a strange time we live in when 24 year olds can already experience trouble with going with the times ._.

Kids these days won't understand the Limewire... Basically giving your PC Cancer in exchange for an MP3 File

While others were out partying or hanging out in high school in the late 90s/early 2000s I was at home on my crazy weekends chatting with anyone who was online. Those sounds you played set off a Pavlovian response of having to respond to an IM. I miss those days, and the old chat rooms. When I try to find cool chat rooms like those today I only find disappointment. I haven't logged in since those classic versions shut down in 2015, but damn I do miss it. Thanks for memorializing this Clint!

We here, people in Poland we had our own AIM-like application called Gadu-Gadu (which you can see on a chart @ 5:33). No body use that anymore. I mean, if you hear someone actually using this app, people go in deep nostalgia. That's the thing with old programs like this, nobody use them, but they sure miss them.

Ahhh i miss those days. I REAALY miss MSN Messenger, specially the 7.5 version.

While I never used AIM, I remember spending way, way too many hours each night after school chatting to people over MSN Messenger. While my school days weren't exactly what I'd call the highest point in my life, the amount of fun and random conversations I had via IMs I definitely remember fondly. You always know how to do a good throwback, LGR! I do actually miss MSN Messenger in a weird sorta way.

I was super late to the AIM game. I had one for about 3-5 months before I abandoned it for MySpace. Can’t wait to see the video you do for Snapchat in 12 years!

Man I miss those days. I have the AIM "receive message" sound as my work email notification hahaha. You know what's funny that i was thinking about recently... back then, people put SOOOOO much effort into personalizing AIM, MySpace, Live/Dead Journals with music and fonts and buddy icons (which I forgot about until watching your video) and particularly early cellphones with ringtones... now it is INFINATELY easier to create and set custom ring tones etc. and NO ONE DOES IT! Aside from a co-worker's phone and my own, I have not heard a custom phone ring tone in a long time. Everyone just uses the pre-loaded stock ring tones. That just blows my mind. The poisonous vanity of social media is at an all time high now, yet for some reason no one personalizes ringtones anymore. Very strange! Awesome video!

AIM's "Get File" feature was amazing and no other program has made something like it sinse then. Rather than selecting a file and sending it. You selected a folder to store your shareable files in and then gave a group on your Buddy list access to it. So they could initiate the file transfer without you needing to be there to accept anything. And files were directly sent from person to person, no intermediary. Your friends could browse your shared folders and download stuff directly from you. Downloads resume where they left off too if disconnected. Feature was removed after AIM 5.9.

Rip...AIM

lol, i was one of the 1% on that graph from 2011. i am really stubborn sometimes and i loved AIM and refused to give it up. i kept using AIM regularly until early 2012, when the last friend who would talk to me on it was like "bro you need to download skype and stop being weird"

My closest, dearest friends, still known for many many years, was found from this program. Discord may replace and exceed the features of AIM, but I will always have a place in my heart for this gateway to online communication.

Hearing that creaking door open noise still gets me excited. Those were the days in my dorm room waiting to for that certain person to log on to chat with.

This punched me right in the fucking face with nostalgia... Great vid

“Art for art's sake is an empty phrase. Art for the sake of truth, art for the sake of the good and the beautiful, that is the faith I am searching for.” ― George Sand

Thanks for this timely video, Clint. Had no idea AIM was even shutting down until I saw this. Just decided to sign on one last time, as I hadn't signed on in years. I still have one buddy from high school (nearly two decades ago) who was signed on his very same Counter-Strike-themed screen name, haha. And it was nice seeing all the other old names on my buddy list again. It's like looking at a moment in your life frozen in time.

I've also been thinking about the aesthetic shift in usernames since AOL.. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who looks back and notices old usernames are... off in comparison to today's usernames.

I loved Trillian - much better than having two separate clients for my AOL and ICQ contacts. I can't remember if it was AOL or ICQ, but one of those companies kept making changes to its protocol to prevent Trillian from working because they wanted you to use their own client. However, the Trillian developers kept figuring out ways to work around it. My college roommate and I would converse with each other over AIM all the time - much better than turning around and using our voices.

I miss MSN Messenger so much, it was so fun talking to your friends, playing games and even doing Videochat before Skype, I miss that program so much D:

This also created a folder in the user directory called "filelib" which I started using as a general downloads folder (before that was a common practice) and then I used as a subdirectory of my downloads folder to contain things I needed, but not right now... it lives on to this day in my downloads folder, renamed to 'acollated' - which isn't actually a word. Good times, man... where am I?

What I really loved about AIM was the file sharing, you could share FOLDERS with thousands of files as big as unlimited in size and it also had RESUME DOWNLOAD!

Phreakindee! I'd almost forgotten that this channel used to be called that!

I was born in 2004 and aim still gives me nostalgia. I used my grandparents windows xp pc 24/7 whenever i visited their house, and thats what aim reminds me of lol

It's sad to see it go, but I like that perspective that AIM has been irrelevant for so long we might not necessarily miss the chat client itself, but rather the way it connected us with friends at the time, and those "smiles enjoyed over late night conversations". I'm glad they gave us the heads up that they are taking it offline and it didn't just disappear one day. It has prompted a lot of conversation and I've been watching and reading a ton of people's stories and nostalgia about AIM, I find it really interesting. I met my wife on AIM back in the early 2000's, and I always thought that was pretty unique, though the last few weeks I've read a bunch of stories of similar situations. So cool!

Ah, Trillian! What a lifesaver you were - I back in the days of 192 meg of ram, and all your friends using different IM clients, it was a lifesaver! Oh and my RU-vid screenname is directly based on my old AIM screenname

I remember seeing a news post where the "You've got Mail" Voice guy was a Uber driver now lol

Oh Trillian.. Thats a long time since ive heard about that neat piece of software! I remember using it a ton, when i was using ICQ, IRC & MSN at the same time

AIM is responsible for me meeting my wife back in 2003. We've been together going on 15 years and have four beautiful kids together. I'm grateful for the impact it had on my life 😁.

IM evolution is pretty interesting. Back then, there was MSN Messenger, mIRC, AIM everywhere. Now, a lot of services died out or will.

I remember Trillian. Certainly saved having to run several clients at once.

i gotta give LGR props for all the works he does-- those clips of AIM throughout had some very funny dialog. a good time.

The feels are strong. I still talk to a friend I met through AIM probably 15 years ago.

A lot of my core memories are centered around AIM. Spending hours crafting my profile and text colors and browsing through endless buddy icons. I met some of my best friends on AIM. I got asked out by my first boyfriend on AIM. Oh man I don't remember all the conversations but I remember how they made me feel - flirting with my crushes, discovering that I was funny, gossiping with friends. I wish I had known to save those conversations - what a time capsule that would've been. I was a shy kid, so I had a hard time making new friends and asking them to hang out, but I didn't feel so left out and lonely when I was able to "hang out" with my friends on AIM. It's sad that it's gone, but AIM really shaped our generation.

Clint should totally do an old school myspace video

I was the outcast of my group. My parents had business internet through Bellsouth starting in early 94. Everyone else had AOL and I felt left out.

ASL?? Good times, but the one service I remember fondly was MSN Messenger...I always remember talking with this girl from uni when suddenly Heath Ledger died, and I broke the news to her...or another time I ended up talking to this young woman who was in a battered wife shelter with her kid - it seemed a simpler time, when technology was fresh and amazing..

this brings me back to many nights as a kid talking to people through AIM in between playing everquest and downloading mp3s from kazaa

I approve of the use of Nirvana lyrics in away messages. SocialOutcastNo1, signing off.

Still rocking my AOL screen name to this day. I refuse to let it go, even if some ISP is also using it. Made it back in 1996, even have it as my license plate on my car. I am that much of a dork, and I don’t even care.

You completely nailed this video. It made me happy I got to experience it but also sad that it's gone (even though I haven't used it for maybe over 10 years). The good ol' days with customizing my away messages, signing online just to see is on, and competing with my friends and family on who can stay online the longest without being disconnected! Those were definitely the good ol' days. Thank you for the nostalgia trip LGR. And you're right, that screen name i use today "grtoocool" has been with me since the AIM days.

Your channel is easily one of the best on youtube. I really appreciate the relaxed, educational, and fun atmosphere you have created. It's great how all you focus on is your content, no drama, no politics. And on top of that, I always walk away from one of your videos, with something new I learned. Thanks man, keep it up!

Ah yes, the 2000s era angst...

Was never an AOL user admittedly, more so MSN, but perhaps that was due to AOL not being quite so popular here in the UK.

LGR! I have the same feelings and memories with ICQ back in the end of the 90s . Thanks for this video it really brought me memories about those days!

Thank you for doing this video, Clint. For some reason, hearing your voice and getting your take on this classic piece of my childhood just helps put the old girl to rest in an official capacity. I'm gonna miss her :)

Oh, the good old days. It brings this strange nostalgia just watching the chat windows and also realizing I still remember my login and password even after more than 13 years since making them. The thing that makes me really sad is the lack of backed-up history. Today it's normal to have everything stored in cloud and it's pitty it wasn't like this back then. I would have loved reading my teenage angsty conversations with people I don't see anymore or those that are sadly not with us anymore. Showing this stuff is why I love your channel, great work, keep it up!

I agree with have AOL allow the software to be open . The chat rooms were fun. True that I met a LOT of nice people on chat!.

3:36 HEY you were the 100,000th visitor! Congratulations! Hope you got your reward.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. This was great. I'd love to see more nostalgic communication episodes

It was MSN Messenger when I was younger.

I'll miss it not due to its functionality, but the fact that modern IM services wont have a nostalgic feeling for people in 10-15 years time, since it wont change.

A little sad to see AIM go... I've quite a bit of significant memories with it. From chatting with classmates, to chatting with various forum members from around the world, and to having one of my first relationships... those were some fond times. Copied my buddy list and icon before AIM shuts down for good, just to have something to look back to and remember those good times.

Man! Such nostalgia overload! I never used AOL, in fact, it wasn't popular here, but I definitely used MSN Messenger A LOT and pretty much everything in this video could also be applied to Messenger! The weird names, the colorful and angsty avatars, even the crapton of animated GIFs people loved to use and frankly were pretty cool to use! And the Comic Sans! (Good God, the Comic Sans...) I still use Messenger's sounds on my phone, that's how much I liked it back in the day! :D

I wish you could do an episode talking about AOL and all the old visual basic aol warez programs, because they were so fun to mess around with.

I used MSN Messenger back in the days. It was a more popular choice in Europe.

oh wow, my childhood... i honestly thought it was already dead ;; AIM and yahoo messenger were so important to me as a child. a moment of silence

Man I was on this MSN and Yahoo a lot. Espeically MSN/Yahoo they had pretty good video chat at the time. Many fond memories of, will call it, talking.

Man I chatted up so many girls on AIM back in the day....... well..... I think they were girls.

I remember hearing that little "uh oh" chime in 99cent stores in the late 90s and early 2000s. Never knew that's what it was

Ah, pre-youtube internet culture will always hold a spot in my heart. Not that I don't have a lot of memories of RU-vid from my late 2000s high school days (mostly of not knowing which video was going to be a screamer prank).

I remember using MSN Messenger to host a group chat where we would "RP" basically DnD but without dice. Typing in what our character's were doing and saying to progress and create tales of wonder and fantasy. These would typically go all night long, and is something I remember fondly and think about when playing tabletop rpgs today! Fun video! Nostalgia strong!

🎶 Memories 🎶 I still remember my ICQ number, and my AIM username. When Trillian came out I was all over that so I didn’t have to run 4-5 different clients.

a/s/l?

Never used AIM but I remember ICQ, mIRC and pIRCh very well. So much nostalgia. Thanks for another great video.

Loved the video. Brought back so many funny and embarrassing memories. Thanks Clint :)

In Czech Republic I think nobody even knew anything but ICQ. It was so serious back then... If you knew somebody and did not have him on ICQ others were gossiping you don't like each other and heck, it even started gossips about fighting each others just because they wasn't connected on ICQ. Good ol' times... I was lucky enough my parents did buy and internet connection way before it was absolutely normal and same with computer so most of the time I was the little genius tinkering with their most valuable thing and when I discovered ICQ... BOI O' BOI, my parents still must have nightmares to this day when I started writing with 10-15 people at the same time and went away for a second

Never used AIM but man, all the late nights spent on IRC/ICQ...

Great job, man. This was well-written!

1:15 I looked at my system tray. OMG AIM & ICQ

I use to be on all of them: AOL IM, Yahoo IM, MSN IM, ICQ, IRC/Pirch, MS comic chat and Pow Wow

ICQ was my jam ahhhh I miss it so much

I still have years of HTML chat logs saved on my hard drive. I still used AIM with my closest friends up until the end.

I can say that In Poland somewhere around 2000 we had our own IM called GG(formerly Gadu-Gadu, formerly SMSExpress). It was primarly IM with free SMS gateway feature which was very popular in my country. When for some reason the whole network was down, many kids were flooding the SMS gateway to send messages to regular mobile phone numbers. Fun fact. In ~2008 it was still a big thing, that when the whole network was down for about a day many teachers in my school didn't check our homeworks because the Gadu-Gadu was down for about a day. Even I had one exam moved to another day.

My favorite msg'n app will always be ICQ.

2:37 That's some prime early 2000's edge right there

This was an excellent retrospective. Well done.

Oh wow. . .AIM was pretty much my first chat program too. Used that and MSN Messenger TONS back in the day. Talk about a trip down memory lane. . . RIP, AIM. You shall be missed.

This hit the nostalgia button hard

I miss MSN Messenger. :'(

Sigh. I miss AIM. I wish everyone had logged in one more time because there's people I only ever spoke to on there and xanga and I've lost all contact with them over the years. 😭 thank you for making this video and reminding me about Emily is Away! 💗

Anyone remember the terror that the squeaky door opening sound effect would have on you when you knew it was a girl you've been meaning to talk to or you wanted to see if she'd IM you first? It was like the opening bell to a boxing match. You knew it was gametime when you heard that door.

AIM was the shit back in the day. I remember staying up all night when I was in hs talking to my friends

I'm not crying you're crying.

Memories make the heart grow fonder....wow...20 years. Those long nights messaging your crush or best buddies to see what the answers for the homework was...good times...and they will be missed. Thank you sir for this video.

AIM was such a fun feature in AOL, I remember waiting to chat with my cousins and friends who loved far. And also it was also fun playing games on AOL while you're chatting!