put back instant message using phone numbers again
Would like to see IM back on AOL.
It's just like text message on IOS phones
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David C. commented
Ok. Truth time. Your AIM software. You ran it for 20 years. And you know WHY you were running it for 20 years? BECAUSE IT WORKED. I'm beyond frustrated because you discontinued it. I have looked around. There IS nothing that can replace what you took from the world. AIM was trusted, simple to use... heck. Everyone from 9 to 90 easily knew how to use it right from the start.
Closing it down was probably another corporate cost-cutting idea... but I'm here to tell you as a loyal AOL supporter for DECADES... it was a BAD idea to shut it down. And you need to bring it back.
AIM wasn't just a chat program. It was a window to the world at large. It was and remains to this day the undisputed GLOBALLY trusted program. It lasted for twenty years because it was almost an essential program people used ALL OVER THE WORLD like a word document or a calendar.
It never felt... right when I would upgrade a computer, without it. Like the install wasn't complete and I wasn't officially "online", until I could log in and hear my buddylist open up. I'd leave it on in the background sometimes... and setting Away messages were a lifesaver when I knew people in different time zones and wanted to post a public message. It felt like being there for people, even if I was AFK... they could see ME, feel MY presence and know I could be reached.
I always had it in me where I wanted to write the Great American Novel. Well, I never did THAT, but I estimate the amount of writing I did in IM windows, would have filled three encyclopedias.
AIM may not be cutting edge or even something YOU think's important. But I'll tell you something. It WORKED. And I guarantee you, bring it back, and people WOULD STILL USE IT.