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ICQ will stop working from June 26

icq.com

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Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#371

Post by booleanbetrayal »

joering2 wrote: post #336
booleanbetrayal wrote: post #328

243121 Don't ask me how I remember this number that I haven't used in 20-odd years, but maybe that alludes to the impact it made on the community at large. RIP ICQ

less than quarter mil number, that's very very early on! mine is over 3.8 million, and I created it relatively early on considering I was living in Europe :) I think I remember my number because back then when you had to reinstall software or put it on new machine you always went by your number, instead of your email or username. That's why I think I still remember it :)

That's a good point! Funny how some things get permanently lodged in some brain folds.

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#372

Post by shmoe »

lxgr wrote: post #113
jedberg wrote: post #14

This makes me sad. I mean, I haven't logged in in about 20 years now, and couldn't if I wanted to (don't have the password or access to the email address). But I had a low five digit user number, and built a lot of relationships on ICQ (some of which continue today!). It was my main method of electronic communication in college. I had romantic relationships live and die on ICQ. Another reminder of how things change o…

I have similar sentimental memories of ICQ. One highlight was being able to connect to it from my phone for the first time; first on my first smartphone (Symbian), then from my "non-smart" Sony Ericsson that succeeded it, via some Java Jabber client and a Jabber-to-ICQ bridge! (Unfortunately nobody else that I knew had it on their phones, so I could only reach people in front of their PCs at home.) On the other hand,…

I was ICQ'ing my buds from a Motorola Talkabout 2-way pager for a bit there :) Memories...

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#373

Post by flexagoon »

gbraad wrote: post #258

Low 6 digits owner. Have long lost access... Made many friends on ICQ. But all good things come to an end. Though this one actually outlasted my expectations: AOL owned... But why does it mention VK?

> Though this one actually outlasted my expectations: AOL owned... But why does it mention VK?

Because ICQ was bought by VK in 2010

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#375

Post by sedatk »

richarme wrote: post #322

Good memories from a more innocent time. The ICQ client truncated long filenames in the UI, so you could send "image.jpg (50 spaces) .exe" which would open an embedded picture and install a back-door while just seeming like regular picture. I do miss casually texting with people on the computer rather than the phone, and I don't think it's only due to nostalgia or having more leisure time back then: - If someone was…

ICQ even had a realtime chat feature that showed keystrokes as they were typed.

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#378

Post by fullstop »

ssfrr wrote: post #45

1303789 Serious question - why do so many people remember our ICQ numbers? I don’t remember what user-facing function it served. Was that actually the identifier we shared with people to connect? I suppose it also came at a time for a lot of us where things seemed to wedge into our brains more easily.

Mine was only six digits, and it was easy to remember since the first three were "333". I Can still sign in, but my contact list is empty and I have nobody to chat with.

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#379

Post by fullstop »

barbazoo wrote: post #274
ssfrr wrote: post #45

1303789 Serious question - why do so many people remember our ICQ numbers? I don’t remember what user-facing function it served. Was that actually the identifier we shared with people to connect? I suppose it also came at a time for a lot of us where things seemed to wedge into our brains more easily.

889246** I forgot what I had for lunch yesterday but somehow I can remember my ICQ number.

3330*

I'm going to miss it, even if it's not been used in decades.

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#380

Post by adamomada »

ssfrr wrote: post #45

1303789 Serious question - why do so many people remember our ICQ numbers? I don’t remember what user-facing function it served. Was that actually the identifier we shared with people to connect? I suppose it also came at a time for a lot of us where things seemed to wedge into our brains more easily.

Isn’t there some study which showed that the maximum length number someone can easily remember is around 7 digits? It’s quite strange tho I remember it too, 3243845
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