Questions on Instant Messaging Services

[Skynet]

So a few posters on Elliquiy use IMs for role-plays,  as well as other things.

I was thinking of signing up for a Yahoo! account solely for Elliquiy use.  I noticed that they require you to give them a mobile phone number, and I was uncomfortable with that.  It also mentioned that it could be downloaded onto a computer for better service, but I'd prefer something like a message board I could just sign up for and log out at my leisure.

Can someone give me an outline on all the major/popular IM services, and their benefits and problems?  ICQ, AOL, MSN, and Yahoo! seem to be the most frequently used on Elliquiy.

Additionally, if I get an IM account, is it "always on," where it will send alerts and pop-ups if people try talking to me?  Or can it be set to notify me of messages only when I "log in?"

Thank you for any help that you can give!

[Oniya]

Just as a note, while many of the current messaging services try to badger/scare you into giving them a phone number, I've so far been able to find a 'No thanks' or 'Not now' option on every page that asks for it.

[Skynet]

I tried signing up for Yahoo!, but it said that the field was required.

Ideally, I'd like a service which

1.) Can be turned off when not in use

2.) Free.

3.) No required phone numbers

4.) Don't need to download onto the computer.

[Moraline]

I have YIM and I never gave them my phone number.

PS: You can just make a Yahoo email and use their web browser based built in messenger instead of going full out on downloading the messenger service. *EDIT* Access to it is right in the web browser email when you log onto Yahoo Email.

[Skynet]

I tried registering for Yahoo Mail, and it had the same page for IM meaning that I have to give out my mobile number.  Apparently this is a very recent change.

[Moraline]

Well that is just shitty. I wouldn't give my cell phone number to those scheming bastards either. 

[kylie]

     Hmms.  Perhaps you could make up a possible, but false, phone number just to fill that field?  Or are they demanding to call you and verify it, too? 

     I have had more trouble with Yahoo locking me out the past year based on a single password error (you mess up a few times and it kicks you out for a whole day each time you are wrong after that?!), though it may have more to do with living in the former Soviet sphere.  It also will not let you make new accounts at all in some parts of the world.  Just fyi -- but this means I have barely been able to use one of my accounts in what seems like forever.

     

     

[mia h]

     Hmms.  Perhaps you could make up a possible, but false, phone number just to fill that field?  Or are they demanding to call you and verify it, too? 

Making up phone numbers works just fine. The justification is that they can send your password out to you if you forget it, just don't forget your password

[Tsenta]

I know msn used to have a web messenger, I dunno if it's still around since Skype took it over. A non-download IM client is hard to come by these days.

[Lilias]

Those of us who juggle several accounts on several different IM services find multi-platform clients like Trillian and Digsby invaluable.

[Oniya]

Google has a chat service off the Gmail screen, but I'm not sure if you can connect with non-gmail users.

[gaggedLouise]

I've never given away a phone number or a street address to any acccount I set up on YIM or (the now dying) MSN Messenger, and not on the corresponding Hotmail or Yahoo mail service either, or on Gmail. I've been using hotmail as Louise, as my vanilla r/l self and for some specialized purposes.

When I upgraded from free hotmail service to Hotmail Plus (MSN) back in 2005 I did pay twenty bucks for the service - it meant a huge improvement in storage space, better anti-spam protection and some other assets, you didn't get hundreds of megabyte or so for free with a non-prime mail acount back then - and paid this with the credit card, confirming my r/l name and home address, but it's the only time I've been required to do this with any mail or messenger service.

I haven't tried Skype, but I don't think they demand a phone number either - unless you're going to align it to your actual phone land line of course.

[Rogue]

www.pinger.com

Gives you a number to text to from your cpu, so you can use that instead of an actual phone number. :)

[Pipaluk]

I use Skype. I considered signing up for YIM as well, seeing everyone used YIM, but I ran into the same problem you did. So I'll just stick to skype. It works well. And yes, you can turn off notifications. My only problem with Skype is that you can't truly make it run in the background. It's always on the start menu instead of just hiding in the tray like they used to.

[Haruki]

Never EVER fall for the 'give your phone #' gimmick.  Just throw in a 'dummy' one, and jot your password down elsewhere so you don't forget it.

I've used AIM, Yahoo, Skype and MSN.  MSN no longer exists....they merged their contact lists into Skype and basically shut their own servers down for good (they're busy trying to compete with Google with their Bing and Outlook services).  Ever since Ebay spun Skype back off into its own entity, they've been on a tear lately....their user base has been exploding in growth.

ICQ is a name I've not heard in years.  In the West, they merged with AIM years ago (ala Skype + MSN have done recently), but their standalone product is still fairly popular in Middle Eastern countries and the like.  They're the oldest IM service around.

Speaking of Google, their Talk service is, I believe, also being shut down, if not done so already.

For all intents and purposes because a lot of people are cutting the cord and ditching laptops/desktops (for non-work related things like friends, roleplay and other things), a lot of people quit using IMs because they are too clunky on a smartphone...not to mention their services (SMS, IM) can all be done on the fly and in streamlined fashion on Skype.  It's usually Skype or plain texting for quick contact, I've observed.

I don't know how helpful all this will be, but hopefully it is of some use.

PS: Odd how most forums still have MSN as a field.  Should be 'Skype ID' or something.  Their IM side of the service allows usernames, even though a lot of folks go by their cell # with the service.

[WindVoyager]

If you dont want to down load messengers you can use https://plus.im/ 

All you do is get a handle for a messenger and you can use plus.im to use almost nay messaging service inducing Skype on your browser. I have only AIM downloaded and use plus.Im for the rest

[Valthazar]

I think the reason more and more services are requiring mobile phone numbers, is to prevent duplicate accounts, and fake accounts.  I read a while ago that Yahoo was deleting many old accounts that hadn't been opened in years (and obviously many fakes, bots, etc.)

[gaggedLouise]

I think the reason more and more services are requiring mobile phone numbers, is to prevent duplicate accounts, and fake accounts.  I read a while ago that Yahoo was deleting many old accounts that hadn't been opened in years (and obviously many fakes, bots, etc.)

True, but as long as they're open and free-to-use services and you don't actually need to show up face-to-face and show your public records/ID card at the desk of some Yahoo, Skype or Facebook officer, I think it's plainly impossible to avoid some accounts being fakes, robots, pseudonyms etc. Besides, the need to have the option of just de-linking some things you'll do or say online from your proper name, your daytime, day-job person is a legitimate one. Employers, schools and the media (and even some neighbours) are getting more and more nosy in looking up things by web to find out what their applicants or people they meet have been doing in the past, and it's getting easy to look for in a way it's never been before when so much of our activities leave some kind of online traces. Most people here on E, or even at Amazon, IMDB or Wikipedia, wouldn't want everything they talk and post about in those places to be easy to hook up with their real-life names and put to other people's use over many years into the future.