ICQ will stop working from June 26 • Hacker News Board

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#571

Post by calmworm » Sat, May 25, 2024, 4:31 AM UTC

freedomben wrote: post #318

calmworm wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

666260 Had it for many years then someone “hacked it” and took it. That was the end of it for me.

Yeah I did not realize how much people like to have low number IDs. I signed up very early on but my friends bailed so I did too. No idea what even happened to that account and the email addresses I used at the time are also lost after being abandoned. Given average password sophistication at the time, I'm sure it got hacked/hijacked at some point.

I didn’t consider that it was a low number, just posted because I remembered it. But I’m also now realizing that wasn’t actually my ID, it was the middle six numbers of a UPC on a 1 1/4 oz 25 cent bag of Doritos in the early 90’s. Oops.

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#572

Post by pndy » Sat, May 25, 2024, 4:51 AM UTC

whycome wrote: post #254

For everyone proudly displaying their old ICQ numbers, just be aware that there are still sites that have some of the info tied to the numbers archived (presumably what was made public/status). So, there may be some easily-access publicly identifiable information that you don't want associated with your current HN username. (I just did a search and I found that my old icq# had a phone number linked to it)

ICQ counterpart in Poland at some point started using gg: pseudoprotocol and that allowed more aware people to track others activity across the web as most of us included their UINs in post footers on forums

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#573

Post by runevault » Sat, May 25, 2024, 4:53 AM UTC

Since others are posting about ICQ.

It was the first way I chatted privately with a lot of people I met via stuff like internet forums or MUDs. Formed connections that lasted for years (though nothing lasts forever).

I was told to turn on my TV the morning of 9/11 after getting back from my 8am class (central time) by someone on ICQ. I spoke with a friend who was expelled from college to keep in touch with her (for a time) via ICQ.

Thinking back, it is strange how easily I let ICQ go, because it was tied up with a lot of good early internet memories, but I guess that is the way the world works, or more specifically the flow of human emotions across time.

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#574

Post by egeozcan » Sat, May 25, 2024, 4:54 AM UTC

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 had a 6 digit one, then lost it, then got 49053668. I've forgotten many passwords but never this. I actually could login to the web app, using the oldest password I used that I can remember, but it doesn't show any old contacts except one. Oh well. So long and thanks for all the fish! great moments!

edit: Found a video of an old client working: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_pYWRfeYKs

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#575

Post by z3phyr » Sat, May 25, 2024, 4:57 AM UTC

ICQ was my first interaction with computers proper as a kid. My father had just started as a programmer; and the family just got a computer with a Windows 95. Father sets up ICQ so that we can chat and send new year greetings, when he is away fro business. Good times.

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#576

Post by derwiki » Sat, May 25, 2024, 4:59 AM UTC

aalaap wrote: post #566

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…

3294067

You got me! 3660836

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#577

Post by egeozcan » Sat, May 25, 2024, 5:06 AM UTC

lxgr wrote: post #308

toast0 wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't remember, but I don't think MSN had offline messages. And I don't think ICQ lost offline messaging in the OSCAR transition, IIRC, ICQ moved to OSCAR with offline messages, then AIM got them, then AIM and ICQ could talk for a while (but all my ICQ contacts that I kept had moved to AIM or MSN by then anyway). As I recall, originally, the ICQ client polled the server via UDP to see if it had any messages, and th…

Woah, ICQ had peer-to-peer? I thought it was quite centralized! Was that before the OSCAR migration? I only remember Skype being "true" peer-to-peer, with your PC randomly becoming a presence/call relaying "supernode" if you had a publicly reachable IP and good connectivity. Different times!

There were even some tools that showed you the IP, the "real status" and etc. of your contacts. The 9 year old me have felt like the greatest hacker of all time when using those tools :)

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#578

Post by derwiki » Sat, May 25, 2024, 5:12 AM UTC

mdip wrote: post #239

larodi wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

4125222 I still remember it but not the pass

I had 2589620 ... I have the password, somewhere. :)

After going back and forth with icq support about 5 years ago, my password literally came back to me in a dream! Worth it to just see my contacts

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#579

Post by egeozcan » Sat, May 25, 2024, 5:13 AM UTC

fragmede wrote: post #401

nogridbag wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just logged in for the first time in over 25 years a few weeks ago. I found https://web.icq.com/ which does not require an email address: only the ID and password. And back then I used a single password for everything. And it worked! All my old online friends from my childhood were there, my profile message, etc. While most were offline, a few showed up as online and I quickly messaged them! But my excitement died…

I logged in (how the hell did I remember the ID and password‽) but all my contacts except 1 that I don't remember are gone.

I had exactly the same experience! Just one contact is there, I had at least a hundred.

Re: ICQ will stop working from June 26

#580

Post by derwiki » Sat, May 25, 2024, 5:14 AM UTC

peteforde wrote: post #553

101919 here. My account got hacked in 1999 and so it's been 25 years since I've been able to login, and yet I remember my UIN the way most people remember their first phone number. My friend at the time, 101449 was in the first 1500 users; I was late to the game and joined later that afternoon. I met three people by randomly searching by criteria who are still friends to this day. Erin from Niagara Falls was the firs…

ICQ profiles were the proto Myspace