what is the most popular instant messenger?

[Blue_Tires]

i used to IM people back in my AOL days, and i was wondering which one to d/l (i only want ONE): Aol IM, Yahoo IM, MSN messenger, ICQ, or something else altogether?

[Kire]

1. Trillian

Trillian is a fully featured, stand-alone, skinnable chat client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC. It provides capabilities not possible with original network clients, while supporting standard features such as audio chat, file transfers, group chats, chat rooms, buddy icons, multiple simultaneous connections to the same network, server-side contact importing, typing notification, direct connection (AIM), proxy support, encrypted messaging (AIM/ICQ), SMS support, and privacy settings.

Without stealing your home page and with no other included software, pop-ups, or spyware, Trillian provides unique functionality such as contact message history, a powerful skinning language, tabbed messaging, global status changes (set all networks away at once), Instant Lookup (automatic Wikipedia integration), contact alerts, an advanced automation system to trigger events based on anything happening in the client, docking, hundreds of emoticons, emotisounds, shell extensions for file transfers, and systray notifications.

Version 3.1 adds a new identity feature that helps you organize your home and work contact lists, HTML editing for AIM profiles, UPnP support, enhanced IRC performance, and speed enhancements.

http://www.download.com/Trillian/3000-2150-10047473.html

[Blue_Tires]

2. so that means i can communicate with all of them?

[Kire]

3. yes

with one interface

[Blue_Tires]

4. wow...thanks

just when i think i've learned something about the web, there are countless programs to make things easier, programs i never knew existed

[Kire]

5. you got lucky

when you met me

-Tom Petty

[In_The_Wind]

6. I Yahoo.

I don't like AOL or ICQ.

Yahoo will show you the messages you would have received while your messenger was off.

[Callalily]

7. Anyone care to

give me a brief 101 I/M course?

[NewJeffCT]

8. Most popular? Currently AIM/AOL is by far the most popular

I think I remember seeing statistics that AIM has like 45 million+ users, while MSN or Yahoo have under 30 million.

However, I've heard Yahoo & Google are trying to do something about that.

[Omphaloskepsis]

9. You could try....

http://www.meebo.com/

It is a AJAX webpage that works with most services.

[NYdemocrat089]

10. Here AOL/AIM is the most popular.

I myself prefer use MSN and AIM.

[Arkana]

11. I figured it was GayOL.

(GayOL is what my friend Pat calls it--he hates anything AOL or Microsoft.)