mxleader on 20/8/2023 at 19:02
Dumb title, I know. But does anyone still use ICQ? I see lots of ICQ user ID's in profiles and other places but I've never used it before. Is it even active and worth using these days? When I went the ICQ website and hit the download for Mac it took me to what appeared to be a Russian ICQ site and then said the app isn't available for download. I'm assuming that you can access it via the web browser but I don't know enough about it to sign up. There are so many other ways to communicate but sometimes if I want to chat about something ICQ is the only way some people show as a contact. Thoughts?
Cipheron on 20/8/2023 at 21:03
ICQ was the top social media app circa 1999. Back then, everyone was using it, because it was the only game in town. Haha, i managed to get dates / hookups through it, and I didn't even live in a big city. So it was like the facebook / tinder of the late 1990s.
(
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICQ)
Quote:
At its peak around 2001, ICQ had more than 100 million accounts registered.
So ... we're talking a not insignificant chunk of people. However, for people who've had ICQ numbers on their profile, I'd bet almost zero of those specific users still use it ~25 years later.
BTW it did get bought by a Russian outlet, and you're completely right to look at that as sketchy. The
FSB has access to the server logs and uses them in criminal cases.
mxleader on 20/8/2023 at 22:55
Interesting. As long as I've been in the video game scene I'm surprised at how little I know about it. Also, I'm glad I didn't go any further other than looking at the web page. Maybe I should have started using it a couple of decades ago to improve my dating life back then. :joke:
Nicker on 21/8/2023 at 00:57
I thought using YAHOOmail dated me but yeah, I had an ICQ account. And an Amiga 128 with a 1042 memory upgrade the size of a cassette tape... And a 24 pin printer...
mxleader on 21/8/2023 at 04:06
Quote Posted by Nicker
I thought using YAHOOmail dated me but yeah, I had an ICQ account. And an Amiga 128 with a 1042 memory upgrade the size of a cassette tape... And a 24 pin printer...
I too still have a Yahoo email but I only use it to funnel stuff that I want to completely forget about. :cheeky:
heywood on 21/8/2023 at 13:11
I was on ICQ back in the late 90s, using it on a couple of open source projects, and for gathering friends for a game of Quake. But I haven't used it since 2002. It was getting really busy at that point.
I can't see a reason to go back to it now with so many other IM alternatives.
Starker on 22/8/2023 at 10:21
For a while, I used Trillian which aimed to consolidate all of the instant messaging things in one app: IRC, ICQ, MSN Messenger, etc. Since then, many of them have ceased to exist or have cut off 3rd party access.
heywood on 22/8/2023 at 11:41
Long live IRC. That was the original chat for me, and the one I used the most.
mxleader on 22/8/2023 at 13:56
Quote Posted by heywood
Long live IRC. That was the original chat for me, and the one I used the most.
I've never used IRC either. I feel like I missed out on all the cool messaging services. I did spend time on those old Craiglist chatrooms for a bit but that was like being in an old west shootout at times, and sometimes a little creepy.
Harvester on 22/8/2023 at 15:05
I used ICQ a little during my student days, MSN Messenger not at all. What I remember from MSN is that I once had a 16 year old housemate (I was about 21 myself) and she used MSN on my computer with her account to chat with strangers and I saw adult men being complete creeps to her. Turned me off of chatting with strangers. Thankfully dick pics weren't a thing yet.
IRC I used for a while when I dabbled a bit in the demo scene. The channel was called #nlcoders, it was a hangout for Dutch demo scene enthusiasts.
