Wikipedia

AIM (software)

Not to be confused with the AIM alliance.

AIM (AOL Instant Messenger, sometimes stylized as aim) was an instant messaging and presence computer program created by AOL, which used the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time.

AIM
Developer(s)AOL
Initial releaseMay 1997; 27 years ago (1997-05)
Written inC++, Adobe Flash
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows, Windows Mobile, macOS, Android, iOS, BlackBerry OS, Android TV
TypeInstant messaging
LicenseProprietary
Websitemy.screenname.aol.com Edit this on Wikidata

AIM was popular by the late 1990s, in United States and other countries, and was the leading instant messaging application in that region into the following decade. Teens and college students were known to use the messenger's away message feature to keep in touch with friends, often frequently changing their away message throughout a day or leaving a message up with one's computer left on to inform buddies of their ongoings, location, parties, thoughts, or jokes.[1] AIM's popularity declined as AOL subscribers started decreasing and steeply towards the 2010s, as Gmail's Google Talk, SMS, and Internet social networks, like Facebook gained popularity. Its fall has often been compared with other once-popular Internet services, such as Myspace.[2][3]

In June 2015, AOL was acquired by Verizon Communications.[4][5] In June 2017, Verizon combined AOL and Yahoo into its subsidiary Oath Inc. (now called Yahoo). The company discontinued AIM as a service on December 15, 2017.[6]

History

edit

In May 1997, AIM was released unceremoniously as a stand-alone download for Microsoft Windows.[2] AIM was an outgrowth of "online messages" in the original platform written in PL/1 on a Stratus computer by Dave Brown. At one time, the software had the largest share of the instant messaging market in North America, especially in the United States (with 52% of the total reported as of 2006).[7] This does not include other instant messaging software related to or developed by AOL, such as ICQ and iChat.

 
AIM version 4.7 (released 2001)

During its heyday, its main competitors were ICQ (which AOL acquired in 1998), Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger. AOL particularly had a rivalry or "chat war" with PowWow and Microsoft, starting in 1999. There were several attempts from Microsoft to simultaneously log into their own and AIM's protocol servers. AOL was unhappy about this and started blocking MSN Messenger from being able to access AIM.[8][9] This led to efforts by many companies to challenge the AOL and Time Warner merger on the grounds of antitrust behaviour, leading to the formation of the OpenNet Coalition.[10]

 
AIM version 6.8 (released 2008)

Official mobile versions of AIM appeared as early as 2001 on Palm OS through the AOL application.[11] Third-party applications allowed it to be used in 2002 for the Sidekick.[12] A version for Symbian OS was announced in 2003[13] as were others for BlackBerry[14] and Windows Mobile[15]

After 2012, stand-alone official AIM client software included advertisements and was available for Microsoft Windows, Windows Mobile, Classic Mac OS, macOS, Android, iOS, and BlackBerry OS.[16]

Usage decline and product sunset

edit

Around 2011, AIM started to lose popularity rapidly, partly due to the quick rise of Gmail and its built-in real-time Google Chat instant messenger integration in 2011 and because many people migrated to SMS or iMessages text messaging and later, social networking websites and apps for instant messaging, in particular, Facebook Messenger, which was released as a standalone application the same year. AOL made a partnership to integrate AIM messaging in Google Talk, and had a feature for AIM users to send SMS messages directly from AIM to any number, as well as for SMS users to send an IM to any AIM user.[17]

As of June 2011, one source reported AOL Instant Messenger market share had collapsed to 0.73%.[18] However, this number only reflected installed IM applications, and not active users. The engineers responsible for AIM claimed that they were unable to convince AOL management that free was the future.[2]

On March 3, 2012, AOL ended employment of AIM's development staff while leaving it active and with help support still provided.[19] On October 6, 2017, it was announced that the AIM service would be discontinued on December 15;[20][6][21] however, a non-profit development team known as Wildman Productions started up a server for older versions of AOL Instant Messenger, known as AIM Phoenix.[22]

The "Running Man"

edit
 
The "Running Man"

The AIM mascot was designed by JoRoan Lazaro and was implemented in the first release in 1997. This was a yellow stickman-like figure, often called the "Running Man". The mascot appeared on all AIM logos and most wordmarks, and always appeared at the top of the buddy list. AIM's popularity in the late 1990s and the 2000s led to the “Running Man” becoming a familiar brand on the Internet. After over 14 years, the iconic logo disappeared as part of the AIM rebranding in 2011. However, in August 2013, the "Running Man" returned.[23] It was used for other AOL services like AOL Top Speed and is still featured in a theme on AOL Mail.

In 2014, a Complex editor called it a "symbol of America".[24] In April 2015, the Running Man was officially featured in the Virgin London Marathon, dressed by a person for the AOL-partnered Free The Children charity.[25]

Protocol

edit

The standard protocol that AIM clients used to communicate is called Open System for CommunicAtion in Realtime (OSCAR). Most AOL-produced versions of AIM and popular third party AIM clients use this protocol. However, AOL also created a simpler protocol called TOC that lacks many of OSCAR's features, but was sometimes used for clients that only require basic chat functionality. The TOC/TOC2 protocol specifications were made available by AOL, while OSCAR is a closed protocol that third parties had to reverse-engineer.

In January 2008, AOL introduced experimental Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) support for AIM,[26] allowing AIM users to communicate using the standardized, open-source XMPP. However, in March 2008, this service was discontinued.[27] In May 2011, AOL started offering limited XMPP support.[28] On March 1, 2017, AOL announced (via XMPP-login-time messages[29]) that the AOL XMPP gateway would be desupported, effective March 28, 2017.

Privacy

edit

For privacy regulations, AIM had strict age restrictions. AIM accounts are available only for people over the age of 13; children younger than that were not permitted access to AIM.[30]

Under the AIM Privacy Policy, AOL had no rights to read or monitor any private communications between users. The profile of the user had no privacy.[30]

In November 2002, AOL targeted the corporate industry with Enterprise AIM Services (EAS), a higher security version of AIM.[31]

If public content was accessed, it could be used for online, print or broadcast advertising, etc. This was outlined in the policy and terms of service: "... 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". This allowed anything users posted to be used without a separate request for permission.[30]

AIM's security was called into question. AOL stated that it had taken great pains to ensure that personal information will not be accessed by unauthorized members, but that it cannot guarantee that it will not happen.[30]

AIM was different from other clients, such as Yahoo! Messenger, in that it did not require approval from users to be added to other users' buddy lists. As a result, it was possible for users to keep other unsuspecting users on their buddy list to see when they were online, read their status and away messages, and read their profiles. There was also a Web API to display one's status and away message as a widget on one's webpage.[32] Though one could block a user from communicating with them and seeing their status, this did not prevent that user from creating a new account that would not automatically be blocked and therefore able to track their status. A more conservative privacy option was to select a menu feature that only allowed communication with users on one's buddy list; however, this option also created the side-effect of blocking all users who were not on one's buddy list. Users could also choose to be invisible to all.

Chat robots

edit

AOL and various other companies supplied robots (bots) on AIM that could receive messages and send a response based on the bot's purpose. For example, bots could help with studying, like StudyBuddy. Some were made to relate to children and teenagers, like Spleak.

Others gave advice. The more useful chat bots had features like the ability to play games, get sport scores, weather forecasts or financial stock information. Users were able to talk to automated chat bots that could respond to natural human language. They were primarily put into place as a marketing strategy and for unique advertising options. It was used by advertisers to market products or build better consumer relations.[33]

Before the inclusions of such bots, the other bots DoorManBot and AIMOffline provided features that were provided by AOL for those who needed it. ZolaOnAOL and ZoeOnAOL were short-lived bots that ultimately retired their features in favor of SmarterChild.

URI scheme

edit

AOL Instant Messenger's installation process automatically installed an extra URI scheme ("protocol") handler into some Web browsers, so URIs beginning with aim: could open a new AIM window with specified parameters. This was similar in function to the mailto: URI scheme, which created a new e-mail message using the system's default mail program. For instance, a webpage might have included a link like the following in its HTML source to open a window for sending a message to the AIM user notarealuser: 

<a href="aim:goim?screenname=notarealuser">Send Message</a>

To specify a message body, the message parameter was used, so the link location would have looked like this: 

aim:goim?screenname=notarealuser&message=This+is+my+message

To specify an away message, the message parameter was used, so the link location would have looked like this: 

aim:goaway?message=Hello,+my+name+is+Bill

When placing this inside a URL link, an AIM user could click on the URL link and the away message "Hello, my name is Bill" would instantly become their away message.

To add a buddy, the addbuddy message was used, with the "screenname" parameter 

aim:addbuddy?screenname=notarealuser

This type of link was commonly found on forum profiles to easily add contacts.

Vulnerabilities

edit

AIM had security weaknesses that have enabled exploits to be created that used third-party software to perform malicious acts on users' computers.[34] Although most were relatively harmless, such as being kicked off the AIM service, others performed potentially dangerous actions, such as sending viruses. Some of these exploits relied on social engineering to spread by automatically sending instant messages that contained a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) accompanied by text suggesting the receiving user click on it, an action which leads to infection, i.e., a trojan horse. These messages could easily be mistaken as coming from a friend and contain a link to a Web address that installed software on the user's computer to restart the cycle.[citation needed]

Extra features

edit

iPhone application

edit

On March 6, 2008, during Apple Inc.'s iPhone SDK event, AOL announced that they would be releasing an AIM application for iPhone and iPod Touch users. The application was available for free from the App Store, but the company also provided a paid version, which displayed no advertisements. Both were available from the App Store. The AIM client for iPhone and iPod Touch supported standard AIM accounts, as well as MobileMe accounts. There was also an express version of AIM accessible through the Safari browser on the iPhone and iPod Touch.[35]

In 2011, AOL launched an overhaul of their Instant Messaging service. Included in the update was a brand new iOS application for iPhone and iPod Touch that incorporated all the latest features. A brand new icon was used for the application, featuring the new cursive logo for AIM. The user-interface was entirely redone for the features including: a new buddy list, group messaging, in-line photos and videos, as well as improved file-sharing.[36]

Version 5.0.5, updated in March 2012, it supported more social stream features, much like Facebook and Twitter, as well as the ability to send voice messages up to 60 seconds long.[37]

iPad application

edit

On April 3, 2010, Apple released the first generation iPad. Along with this newly released device AOL released the AIM application for iPad. It was built entirely from scratch for the new version of iOS with a specialized user-interface for the device. It supported geolocation, Facebook status updates and chat, Myspace, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare, and many other social networking platforms.[38]

AIM Express

edit

AIM Express ran in a pop-up browser window. It was intended for use by people who are unwilling or unable to install a standalone application or those at computers that lack the AIM application. AIM Express supported many of the standard features included in the stand-alone client, but did not provide advanced features like file transfer, audio chat, video conferencing, or buddy info. It was implemented in Adobe Flash.[39] It was an upgrade to the prior AOL Quick Buddy, which was later available for older systems that cannot handle Express before being discontinued. Express and Quick Buddy were similar to MSN Web Messenger and Yahoo! Web Messenger. This web version evolved into AIM.com's web-based messenger.

AIM Pages

edit

AIM Pages was a free website released in May 2006 by AOL in replacement of AIMSpace.[40] Anyone who had an AIM user name and was at least 16 years of age could create their own web page (to display an online, dynamic profile) and share it with buddies from their AIM Buddy list.

Layout

edit

AIM Pages included links to the email and Instant Message of the owner, along with a section listing the owners "buddies", which included AIM user names. It was possible to create modules in a Module T microformat.[41] Video hosting sites like Netflix and YouTube could be added to ones AIM Page, as well as other sites like Amazon.com. It was also possible to insert HTML code.

The main focus of AIM Pages was the integration of external modules, like those listed above, into the AOL Instant Messenger experience.[42]

Discontinuation

edit

By late 2007, AIM Pages were discontinued.[41] After AIM Pages shutdown, links to AIM Pages were redirected to AOL Lifestream,[42] AOL's new site aimed at collecting external modules in one place, independent of AIM buddies.[43] AOL Lifestream was shut down February 24, 2017.[44]

AIM for Mac

edit

AOL released an all-new AIM for the Mac on September 29, 2008, and the final build on December 15, 2008. The redesigned AIM for Mac is a full universal binary Cocoa API application that supports both Tiger and Leopard — Mac OS X 10.4.8 (and above) or Mac OS X 10.5.3 (and above). On October 1, 2009, AOL released AIM 2.0 for Mac.

AIM real-time IM

edit

This feature was available for AIM 7 and allowed for a user to see what the other is typing as it is being done. It was developed and built with assistance from Trace Research and Development Centre at University of Wisconsin–Madison and Gallaudet University. The application provides visually impaired users the ability to convert messages from text (words) to speech.[45] For the application to work users must have AIM 6.8 or higher, as it is not compatible with older versions of AIM software, AIM for Mac or iChat.[45]

AIM to mobile (messaging to phone numbers)

edit

This feature allows text messaging to a phone number (text messaging is less functional than instant messaging).[46]

Discontinued features

edit

AIM Phoneline

edit

AIM Phoneline was a Voice over IP PC-PC, PC-Phone and Phone-to-PC service[47][48][49] provided via the AIM application. It was also known to work with Apple's iChat Client. The service was officially closed to its customers on January 13, 2009. The closing of the free service caused the number associated with the service to be disabled and not transferable for a different service.[50] AIM Phoneline website was recommending users switch to a new service named AIM Call Out, also discontinued now.[51]

Launched on May 16, 2006, AIM Phoneline provided users the ability to have several local numbers, allowing AIM users to receive free incoming calls.[52] The service allowed users to make calls to landlines and mobile devices through the use of a computer. The service, however, was only free for receiving and AOL charged users $14.95 a month for an unlimited calling plan.[53] In order to use AIM Phoneline users had to install the latest free version of AIM Triton software and needed a good set of headphones with a boom microphone. It could take several days after a user signed up before it started working.[53]

AIM Call Out

edit

AIM Call Out is a discontinued Voice over IP PC-PC, PC-Phone and Phone-to-PC service provided by AOL via its AIM application that replaced the defunct AIM Phoneline service in November 2007.[54] It did not depend on the AIM client and could be used with only an AIM screenname via the WebConnect feature or a dedicated SIP device. The AIM Call Out service was shut down on March 25, 2009.[55]

Security

edit

On November 4, 2014, AIM scored one out of seven points on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's secure messaging scorecard. AIM received a point for encryption during transit, but lost points because communications are not encrypted with a key to which the provider has no access, i.e., the communications are not end-to-end encrypted, users can't verify contacts' identities, past messages are not secure if the encryption keys are stolen, (i.e., the service does not provide forward secrecy), the code is not open to independent review, (i.e., the code is not open-source), the security design is not properly documented, and there has not been a recent independent security audit.[56][57] BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), Ebuddy XMS, Hushmail, Kik Messenger, Skype, Viber, and Yahoo! Messenger also scored one out of seven points.[56]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Away messages keep users in touch". NBC News. July 9, 2004. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Abbruzzese, Jason (April 15, 2014). "The Rise and Fall of AIM, the Breakthrough AOL Never Wanted". Mashable. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  3. ^ "AOL Instant Messenger is shutting down after 20 years". October 6, 2017. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  4. ^ Imbert, Fred (May 12, 2015). "Verizon to buy AOL for $4.4B; AOL shares soar". CNBC. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  5. ^ Sawers, Paul (June 23, 2015). "Verizon completes $4.4B acquisition of AOL". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Albers, Michael (October 6, 2017). "One Last Away Message". AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) on Tumblr. Oath Inc. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  7. ^ "IM Market Share — BigBlueBall Forums". Bigblueball.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  8. ^ Warren, Tom (April 21, 2014). "Inside Microsoft's '90s chat war with AOL". theverge.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  9. ^ "Chat Wars". nplusonemag.com. March 25, 2014. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  10. ^ "AOL & Partners Announce Formation of OpenNet Coalition". HPCwire. February 5, 1999. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  11. ^ "Palm introduces new m105 PDA". Macworld. March 6, 2001. Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  12. ^ Geller, Jonathan S. (October 2, 2007). "Mobile IM clients: Sidekick, Helio Ocean, BlackBerry, iPhone, and more". bgr.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  13. ^ Charny, Ben. "AOL and Symbian cosy up". ZDNet. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  14. ^ "Get your official BlackBerry IM clients now, if you dare". Engadget. April 11, 2007. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  15. ^ "AIM's Windows Mobile chat app nails a bullseye — The Download Blog — CNET Download.com". cnet.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  16. ^ "Products AIM". Products AIM. Archived from the original on July 1, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  17. ^ "How to Send Text Messages to an AIM Account". Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  18. ^ "OPSWAT Market Share Report June 2011" (PDF). opswat.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  19. ^ Biddle, Sam (March 13, 2012). "AIM Is (Unofficially) Dead (Updated)". gizmodo.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  20. ^ "AIM Sunset". AOL Help Article. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  21. ^ Molina, Brett (October 6, 2017). "RIP AIM: AOL Instant Messenger dies in December". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  22. ^ Brown, Dalvin (June 26, 2018). "AOL's instant messenger is back: Meet AIM Phoenix". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  23. ^ LaFrance, Adrienne (December 11, 2014). "The Story Behind AOL's Iconic Yellow Running Man". theatlantic.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  24. ^ "AOL Designer Explains the Company's Iconic Yellow Running Man Logo". complex.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  25. ^ "AOL's Running Man takes part in London Marathon in Support of Free The Children". aol.co.uk. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  26. ^ Florian Jensen (January 17, 2008). "AOL adopting XMPP aka Jabber". Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2008.
  27. ^ "XMPP ~ Computer Science ~ 3073 ~ p2k.unhamzah.ac.id". p2k.unhamzah.ac.id. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  28. ^ "AOL XMPP Gateway". May 14, 2011. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  29. ^ "Fwd: AOL". March 1, 2017. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  30. ^ a b c d Brandon De Hoyos. "AIM Privacy -- Terms of Service Policy -- AIM Privacy". About.com Tech. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  31. ^ Weiss, Todd R. (November 11, 2002). "AOL Takes AIM at Corporate Instant Messaging Users". Computerworld. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  32. ^ "Integrate Your Site with AIM in 3 Easy Steps" (PDF). AOL Developer Network. AOL Inc. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 26, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  33. ^ "tries out new IM chat bot". CNET. January 27, 2003. Archived from the original on December 9, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  34. ^ Vijayan, Jaikumar (January 2, 2002). "AOL Instant Messenger vulnerable to hackers". Computerworld. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  35. ^ "Apple Releases iPhone SDK, Demos Spore, Instant Messaging". Mac Rumors. March 6, 2008. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  36. ^ "AOL Overhauls AIM, Adds New iPhone App". PC Magazine. November 16, 2011. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  37. ^ "AIM for iPhone 5.0.5". Softpedia. March 20, 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  38. ^ "AIM for iPad Approved, Screenshot". MacStories. April 1, 2010. Archived from the original on June 21, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  39. ^ "Products – Express". Aim.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  40. ^ Cashmore, Pete (May 11, 2006). "AIM Pages". Mashable. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  41. ^ a b AOL Instant Messenger#AIM Pages
  42. ^ a b MacManus, Richard. "AIM Pages - AOL Breaking Down the Walled Garden". Archived from the original on May 19, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  43. ^ "AOL Lifestream". Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  44. ^ "AOL Lifestream Sunset Notification". AOL Help. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  45. ^ a b "What is Real-Time IM? Source: AOL Help". aniesoft.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  46. ^ "How-To use AIM to send a Text Message to a phone". engadget.com. July 13, 2004. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  47. ^ "AOL Launches AIM Phoneline". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  48. ^ "Free Calls From AIM". Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  49. ^ "AOL's 'AIM Phoneline' offers free local phone number". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  50. ^ "Free AIM Phoneline Service Closing on January 13, 2009 — VOIP Tech Chat — DSLReports Forums". Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  51. ^ Is the registration path for FREE AIM Phoneline shut down? Archived October 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  52. ^ "AIM Phoneline: Free Phone number for AOL Messenger users". Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  53. ^ a b "First Look: AIM Phoneline and Skype 2.5". PCWorld. June 19, 2006. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  54. ^ "Looking for AIM Phoneline?". Aimphoneline.com. Retrieved October 2, 2008.[permanent dead link‍]
  55. ^ "AOL Voice Services no longer offers new registrations". AOL.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  56. ^ a b "Secure Messaging Scorecard. Which apps and tools actually keep your messages safe?". Electronic Frontier Foundation. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  57. ^ "Only 6 Messaging Apps Are Truly Secure". PC Magazine. November 5, 2014. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
edit
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to AIM (instant messenger).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AIM_(software)&oldid=1256670268"