[Multicomp]

I have an air-gapped Windows XP desktop from 05. It has an old Pidgin installation on it. Of the options listed, we're losing a lot of the heavy hitters that were on that product: AIM, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, now Yahoo Messenger.

It supports XMPP and ICQ protocols still, but my goodness, I'm now learning what it means to be old and lose the systems I used during my formative years. Is this what it felt like to have BBSes die? Yes they still technically exist, but their 'mainstream' days are behind them.

[_riqo]

Yes, it feels that way doesn't it?

The only remaining service I now use with pidgin is gtalk, but it doesn't support offline messages. Or rather, Google didn't implement them in XMPP, so as a result there is a black hole where sent messages go into and I never see them unless I log into Google's Hangouts with a browser.

[mreome]

Yahoo actually stopped being supported in Pidgin last year I believe; due to some major breaking changes in the protocol.

I know what you mean though, it was weird when AIM shuttered, my account was old enough to vote. It is a strange thing when something that was so integral to your life at one point no longer exists.

[wolco]

It was more painful when bbses died but we were all hopeful. Not the same today.

[yodon]

You say you have an air-gapped PC that supports XMPP and ICQ?

[Multicomp]

Sorry, mixing my pronouns. Pidgin as downloaded from the internet today still supports those protocols.

My air-gapped PC supports the Windows XP tour and erm Hover! and that's about it.