ICQ is shutting down

MarkinPhx

MarkinPhx

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Some of you may have also used ICQ back in the late 90's and early 2000's. It was one of the first instant messaging services available. I stopped using it around 20 years ago and had forgotten about it. But seeing this article did bring back some good memories. Home computing and the internet was so much different then and I know I am wearing my rose colored glasses right now but sometimes I do miss those times. It wasn't simpler back then but it sure was a lot more adventurous and in some ways a lot more fun.

ICQ is shutting down after almost 28 years

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MarkinPhx said:
Some of you may have also used ICQ back in the late 90's and early 2000's. It was one of the first instant messaging services available.
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Oh my... there's a blast from the past for sure! Yes, I remember using it way back when... probably at least 21-22 years ago! I would have guessed it disappeared long ago! What I miss (and I do believe I have a thread about it somewhere on the forum) is PowWow... also a live-time chat and I used that a lot in the later 90s, too.
 
CallMeKate said:
Oh my... there's a blast from the past for sure! Yes, I remember using it way back when... probably at least 21-22 years ago! I would have guessed it disappeared long ago! What I miss (and I do believe I have a thread about it somewhere on the forum) is PowWow... also a live-time chat and I used that a lot in the later 90s, too.
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Oh wow. I had forgotten all about that one too. I think I was still on CompuServe when that came out 😳
 
MarkinPhx said:
Once MSN Messenger came out I ditched ICQ and AOL Chat.
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I'd moved too, but the other two lingered for a while.

Then there were things like MSN Chat using the old ActiveX control, Talk City, etc. Along came Buzzen with what became a political nightmare of control. I ended up with SparkPea, which still has an operating descendent today that no longer uses the ActiveX control but emulates it in cross-browser DHTML. These SPCN Chat rooms are dwindling fast, most of the remaining population having aged into their 70s and 80s now. Each room tends to have different limited hours of activity because the population has declined so severely.

Months ago I tried to engender interest, but I quickly found out few people here have any clue what chat rooms are like.
 
I remember using the Yahoo instant messaging as well as belonging to some of the Yahoo Groups, which operated a lot like the Facebook Groups do now, and Yahoo IM was the early version of Messenger.
Now, I have apple devices, so I mostly use iMessage, because that is what all my close family use. Otherwise, I use facebook messenger for friends and family who do not have Apple.
I once had an ICQ account, but don’t really remember using it much, and had not even thought about whether it was still around, kind of like the My Space thing.

Chat rooms seemed to have so many people talking at once, it was hard to follow along and keep up with conversations , otherwise, I like the idea of a group of people being able to have a discussion together.
Life now is so isolated, and my only communication is mostly on forums, or a chat with one of my kids.
 
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Happyflowerlady said:
Chat rooms seemed to have so many people talking at once, it was hard to follow along and keep up with conversations , otherwise, I like the idea of a group of people being able to have a discussion together.
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The closest things to chat rooms today seem to be text group messages but those are made up of people you know. There was something mysterious about the chat rooms Of course there were some very strange and bizarre activities at times but that's when it was a sign to get out of that chat room !

There is a phone app called Kik and I did try that around ten years ago. I did check out a 50+ chat room. From what I remember, they did had some sort of age validation method. That was an experience. It reminded me of what a Singles Happy Hour Night at Sun City must be like. I didn't stay in the room very long :ROFLMAO:
 
I use a free app called Discord. It does everything iMessage and ICQ does. You can download it on your phone or on your web browser.

Wish this site had a chat feature. You all seem very nice and I think it would be fun to chat with you.
 
If I am doing voice on Discord, I just use my cell for that. You are right though, it can be a resource hog, especially when playing certain games.
 
Uh-Oh!

I used this back in the day. It worked really well. Not sure why I stopped...
 

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