March 12, 2005

• Does this mean I lose royalties from my cybersex transcripts showing up in Penthouse Forum?
• What the fuck. What the-- fuck.
• Sheeeeee-it. Are all the IM services putting this in their TOS, or just A-O-Hell?
• :[
• yet another reason to pass on aol...
• Gaim. Trillian. There are alternatives out there, and the alternatives are better. (Not sure how this applies to people who use the AIM network via one of those other conduits, but...)
• i'm pretty sure they're talking about the right to privacy over their network. Trillian probably wouldn't be any safer. ugh.
• I use Gaim. Last week AIM suspended my account and sent me a phishy-looking email telling me I was using it illegally (I assume by using Gaim and not their own client). I reverted to using an older AIM account through Gaim while waiting to see what was up, and just a couple days ago had *that* account suspended too and received the same phishy-looking email. Yet I can't find anywhere that mentions these issues, although I know at least one other person that uses Gaim that this happened to. I think their TOS would apply anyway whether you used their client or you used Trill or Gaim. Looks like AIM isn't worth using anymore if they're going to play like this.
• both GAIM and Trillian use the AIM servers, so even using those programs won't avoid having your conversations go through AOL's hands and their TOS.
• The reason Trillian isn't any safer is because the vast majority of people who download and use it refuse to turn on SecureIM for some reason. Tell your friends: AIM->Connection Preferences->Miscellaneous, check the boxes for "Activate Secure IM Capabilities" and "When possible, ..." And let's see AOL try to parse that!
• BTW, this was discussed on /. late last night...
• Does anyone remeber when AOL turned over it's entire archive of AIM messages to the Justice Department? As I recall it was several terrabytes.
• And most of it was just "OMG WTF!!!!1111oneoneone!" "I know!" Wait, there are people who still use AOL for anything?
• So much for IMing someone my novel, paragraph by paragraph.
• Oh Christ! How am i supposed to set up drug exchanges now. I mean, "Christ it's snowing here, I gonna have to switch to my heavy jacket, I lost my keys you got them by any chance?" Oh yeah you shove it man!" and this is supposed to be a golden age
• Have they changed it already? This is what it says in the link posted above (I can't find the text quoted anywhere): Although you or the owner of the Content retain ownership of all right, title and interest in Content that you post to any AIM Product, AOL owns all right, title and interest in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by AOL using or incorporating this Content. In addition, by posting Content on an AIM Product, you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium. You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the Content or to be compensated for any such uses.
• Capt. Jean-Luc Pikachu - Yeah, I found it on /. and mentioned it to the little woman. I knew some of the Monkeys would see it there too, but it's still interesting to see this happen. I wonder if AOL will revise or clarify the TOS if there's a major public outcry.
• Everyone should use Jabber. Open protocol, no patents, decentralized, platform agnostic, mature clients, and best of all, free (as in libre) software.
• I have accts on the 3 major IM clients. I use Trillian to view them but most of my friends don't use AIM. whew.
• Yes, everyone should switch to jabber. I'm tired of having to keep getting new clients because my friends insist on using MS's IM (which, unlike AIM, does not accept GAIM).
• Trillian works fine w/ MSN... Some people have had success w/ Trillian's Jabber plugin, although I have not...
• 'perform'?
• MSN works on Gaim.
• Unfortunately, not any time I've tried. Keeps telling me it can't connect to the network. But the same password and username work just fine on the annoying MSN client. I haven't tried in the last few months - maybe Gaim has caught up.
• Truth is, I just don't talk to friends who insist on using MSN. The one person I talk most to (fiance) uses jabber, because it works with Linux.
• snoped. Not a hoax, but a misunderstanding/misperception. AIM still sucks (the client at least), but you can still use it without fear that they will steal your LOLs. (I only IM with a few people, and I would love to switch to jabber, but those few people would be difficult to convert.)