6 ms·

Discontinuing support for all third-party messaging networks

40 points by Navarr 13y ago

Navarr 13y ago
What's really shitty, in my opinion, is that they're giving 3 days notice, and only 7 days to download your chat logs for those networks. (For those unaware, retrieving your chat logs has been a feature of IMO for a very, very long time).
- shahar2k 13y ago
  After Meebo, and now this, as well as their dropped support for skype, and extreme pluralization of all IM / chat mediums, and dropping of most generally accessible protocols... the web really seems to be splitting into apps, and it's a sad frustrating reality.
  - MetaCosm 13y ago
    Currently, to talk to everyone I speak to regularly requires: Skype, Hangouts (multiple), IRC, AIM, WhatsApp, HipChat, Viber, Yahoo!, Facebook Chat... Because I need 4x hangouts (1 per company I work with, contracting, my own business, personal, etc) and many of the other apps either won't work with other clients, or have crippled features or usefulness, I end up running 10 "chat" clients. grumpy old man voice Back in my day, we used to be able to setup all our text based messaging in one pidgin client, or a bitlbee instance! Damned kids.
    - magic_haze 13y ago
      It's not as bad now, since most platforms these days insist on a push mechanism that is common to all the apps. You're stuck with different UIs, but the cost is still like running a single client. Even better, because now they cannot run continuously in the background.
  - ranndino 13y ago
    To be fair Skype (MS) cut them off and without any warning. It wasn't their decision. That was actually one of the reasons they cited for doing this. Always at the mercy of external decision makers.
tsudot 13y ago
I've always preferred IMO as a client for all my XMPP accounts. I need to start looking for alternatives now.
mikeflynn 13y ago
...and removed. It wasn't all that long ago when we fought this message interop battle the firsst time with AOL, MSN and Yahoo! Messenger. Now the problem is back in spades: Imo, Hangouts, iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook, ...
- res0nat0r 13y ago
  IMO is pretty much making itself irrelevant with this move. I barely used it, mainly to get Google IM's on my iphone, with this move...it's now uninstalled.
  - whodaman 13y ago
    same here... moved to IM+ Pro, paid. Supports OTR chats too as well as Skype.
  - wlesieutre 13y ago
    @whodaman, you've been hellbanned. Neither of your comments seems to deserve it, so it's not clear why. Assuming you see this (can't reply to you directly), I think the usual advice is to email pg.
zapt02 13y ago
Pidgin is a great alternative!
- shahar2k 13y ago
  unfortunately it's not a webapp
  - JohnTHaller 13y ago
    Right, so you use it on your computer alongside your web apps. Better to use real apps as opposed to web apps that will be taken away with 3 days notice.
    - shahar2k 13y ago
      that's true, but as a freelancer that operates on OTHER people's computers... imo made life very convenient (especially having multiple gchat accounts concurrently with multiple yahoo / facebook account (yeah some holdouts are chatting on all)
      - JohnTHaller 13y ago
        Might I humbly suggest carrying Pidgin with you on a USB stick or similar using our app, then: http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/pidgin_portable http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/pidgin_portable I find it quite handy with operating in other environments.
- Navarr 13y ago
  Pidgin isn't really an alternative. One of the best things about imo was remotely stored chat history, access to both the history and your IMs across devices (including ones you missed while you were out), etc.
- com2kid 13y ago
  Pidgin doesn't run in a web browser Window. It sucks that I now have to go back to a stand alone IM app, I've been using a web based client for close to a decade now.
nobeard 13y ago
The world does not need another damn stand-alone messaging service. I already have to use enough of them, which is why I started using imo.im in the first place! It was the only place I needed to go to be able to communicate across all my contacts, and it being a web app made it so much easier. Now that they don't service this need, I have no reason to continue using them. Time to close the account.
chrishynes 13y ago
Ugg. I've been loving the web chat, but first meebo then imo died a bad death. Time to go back to https://www.trillian.im/ https://www.trillian.im/, I guess.
motyar 13y ago
I stopped using IMO when Skype stopped supporting them.
- nbody 13y ago
  The other way around.
  - higherpurpose 13y ago
    Skype stopped giving 3rd party access a long time ago.
  - ranndino 13y ago
    Skype pulled the plug, not imo.
51Cards 13y ago
I have never used this App but if I did I would also be uninstalling it right now. Chat/messaging apps are not primarily about features, they are about connections. They are social. I don't care if your chat app is awesome if none of my friends are on it. I have been a long term supporter of Trillian for just that reason, cross platform support. It's quirky at times but it gives me as many protocols as possible in one place, and a combined list of all my friends through one interface. It also syncs across all my devices (multiple PC's and Android tablets/phones) As long as they keep that up they maximize the social connections... and my loyalty.
- cvos 13y ago
  They likely want to become a standalone messaging app in the hopes of an acquisition as messaging apps seem to be mimicking the Search Engine wars of 1999. Does anyone have recommendations for a good multi chat app replacement besides trillian?
  - gwern 13y ago
    The timing certainly is striking.
    - 51Cards 13y ago
      Agreed, a very good point there.
  - pipeep 13y ago
    > Does anyone have recommendations for a good multi chat app replacement besides trillian? Pidgin (Win/Linux), Empathy (Linux), Adium (OS X), or Finch (Console-based, on Linux/OS X).
  - Perdition 13y ago
    Which is funny because there was a messaging client war in the late '90's as well. I'm waiting for someone to reinvent IRC for smart phones.
chch 13y ago
As soon as they made having an imo.im login mandatory, I had a sinking feeling it was the beginning of the end, and jumped ship (to the terrible compromise of AIM Express[0]). I had preferred Meebo for my third-party web messaging for a few years (handy in computer labs where you don't own the box!), but the Google acquisition took that away, so I'd switched to imo. Now they're both kaput. A sad day for multiprotocol web messaging. [0] http://www.aim.com/products/express/ http://www.aim.com/products/express/
tobeportable 13y ago
aka what's app story made us craving
jscheel 13y ago
Well, looks like I'm deleting imo right now. I have absolutely no need for their own chat network.
TallGuyShort 13y ago
Any recommendations for an Android messaging app that allows you to be connected to mutliple Google accounts at once? I loved imo.im for this, and it was way better than any others I tried.
- psykovsky 13y ago
  ChatSecure? Xabber?
- jinushaun 13y ago
  Hangout supports multiple Google accts.
bhaile 13y ago
Bummer. Used them for several years with the web client. Used Android client off and on at various times. As others commented, chat history across all services was great and one of their strengths. Switching to Adium as I don't know anyone using imo.im's network. 5 years later, all the chat services will realize "We need to find a way to talk across services". Either XMPP or some other standard will become commonplace. Seems cyclical.
uladzislau 13y ago
IM+ is a good alternative https://plus.im https://plus.im
twodayslate 13y ago
Third party messaging was the only reason I used imo
gnicholas 13y ago
IMO, this seems like a pretty bad idea.
marlin 13y ago
Tried their web app a couple of years ago and was rather impressed (mainly due to their Skype support). However, it drifted away from my focus. Whoa they have their own network. But then again, their original strength was the combination of OTHER im networks, where i could communicate with them all in one place. Right now, i wonder why ever try this again?
ranndino 13y ago
imo is a great chat client. slick, modern, beautiful & has a web app. This decision is very unfortunate as there don't seem to be any good alternatives. Here are their founders explaining the reasons behind it. http://maratryndin.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/why-imo-messenger-is-cutting-support-for-third-party-im-clients/ http://maratryndin.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/why-imo-messenge...
ranndino 13y ago
imo is a great chat client. slick, modern, beautiful & has a web app. This decision is very unfortunate as there don't seem to be any good alternatives. Here are their founders explaining the reasons behind it. http://maratryndin.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/why-imo-messenger-is-cutting-support-for-third-party-im-clients/ http://maratryndin.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/why-imo-messenge...

40 points by Navarr 13y ago

What's really shitty, in my opinion, is that they're giving 3 days notice, and only 7 days to download your chat logs for those networks. (For those unaware, retrieving your chat logs has been a feature of IMO for a very, very long time).

shahar2k 13y ago
After Meebo, and now this, as well as their dropped support for skype, and extreme pluralization of all IM / chat mediums, and dropping of most generally accessible protocols... the web really seems to be splitting into apps, and it's a sad frustrating reality.
- MetaCosm 13y ago
  Currently, to talk to everyone I speak to regularly requires: Skype, Hangouts (multiple), IRC, AIM, WhatsApp, HipChat, Viber, Yahoo!, Facebook Chat... Because I need 4x hangouts (1 per company I work with, contracting, my own business, personal, etc) and many of the other apps either won't work with other clients, or have crippled features or usefulness, I end up running 10 "chat" clients. grumpy old man voice Back in my day, we used to be able to setup all our text based messaging in one pidgin client, or a bitlbee instance! Damned kids.
  - magic_haze 13y ago
    It's not as bad now, since most platforms these days insist on a push mechanism that is common to all the apps. You're stuck with different UIs, but the cost is still like running a single client. Even better, because now they cannot run continuously in the background.
- ranndino 13y ago
  To be fair Skype (MS) cut them off and without any warning. It wasn't their decision. That was actually one of the reasons they cited for doing this. Always at the mercy of external decision makers.

tsudot 13y ago

I've always preferred IMO as a client for all my XMPP accounts. I need to start looking for alternatives now.

mikeflynn 13y ago

...and removed. It wasn't all that long ago when we fought this message interop battle the firsst time with AOL, MSN and Yahoo! Messenger. Now the problem is back in spades: Imo, Hangouts, iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook, ...

res0nat0r 13y ago
IMO is pretty much making itself irrelevant with this move. I barely used it, mainly to get Google IM's on my iphone, with this move...it's now uninstalled.
- whodaman 13y ago
  same here... moved to IM+ Pro, paid. Supports OTR chats too as well as Skype.
- wlesieutre 13y ago
  @whodaman, you've been hellbanned. Neither of your comments seems to deserve it, so it's not clear why. Assuming you see this (can't reply to you directly), I think the usual advice is to email pg.

zapt02 13y ago

Pidgin is a great alternative!

shahar2k 13y ago
unfortunately it's not a webapp
- JohnTHaller 13y ago
  Right, so you use it on your computer alongside your web apps. Better to use real apps as opposed to web apps that will be taken away with 3 days notice.
  - shahar2k 13y ago
    that's true, but as a freelancer that operates on OTHER people's computers... imo made life very convenient (especially having multiple gchat accounts concurrently with multiple yahoo / facebook account (yeah some holdouts are chatting on all)
    - JohnTHaller 13y ago
      Might I humbly suggest carrying Pidgin with you on a USB stick or similar using our app, then: http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/pidgin_portable http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/pidgin_portable I find it quite handy with operating in other environments.
Navarr 13y ago
Pidgin isn't really an alternative. One of the best things about imo was remotely stored chat history, access to both the history and your IMs across devices (including ones you missed while you were out), etc.
com2kid 13y ago
Pidgin doesn't run in a web browser Window. It sucks that I now have to go back to a stand alone IM app, I've been using a web based client for close to a decade now.

nobeard 13y ago

The world does not need another damn stand-alone messaging service. I already have to use enough of them, which is why I started using imo.im in the first place! It was the only place I needed to go to be able to communicate across all my contacts, and it being a web app made it so much easier. Now that they don't service this need, I have no reason to continue using them. Time to close the account.

chrishynes 13y ago

Ugg. I've been loving the web chat, but first meebo then imo died a bad death. Time to go back to https://www.trillian.im/ https://www.trillian.im/, I guess.

motyar 13y ago

I stopped using IMO when Skype stopped supporting them.

nbody 13y ago
The other way around.
- higherpurpose 13y ago
  Skype stopped giving 3rd party access a long time ago.
- ranndino 13y ago
  Skype pulled the plug, not imo.

51Cards 13y ago

I have never used this App but if I did I would also be uninstalling it right now. Chat/messaging apps are not primarily about features, they are about connections. They are social. I don't care if your chat app is awesome if none of my friends are on it. I have been a long term supporter of Trillian for just that reason, cross platform support. It's quirky at times but it gives me as many protocols as possible in one place, and a combined list of all my friends through one interface. It also syncs across all my devices (multiple PC's and Android tablets/phones) As long as they keep that up they maximize the social connections... and my loyalty.

cvos 13y ago
They likely want to become a standalone messaging app in the hopes of an acquisition as messaging apps seem to be mimicking the Search Engine wars of 1999. Does anyone have recommendations for a good multi chat app replacement besides trillian?
- gwern 13y ago
  The timing certainly is striking.
  - 51Cards 13y ago
    Agreed, a very good point there.
- pipeep 13y ago
  > Does anyone have recommendations for a good multi chat app replacement besides trillian? Pidgin (Win/Linux), Empathy (Linux), Adium (OS X), or Finch (Console-based, on Linux/OS X).
- Perdition 13y ago
  Which is funny because there was a messaging client war in the late '90's as well. I'm waiting for someone to reinvent IRC for smart phones.

chch 13y ago

As soon as they made having an imo.im login mandatory, I had a sinking feeling it was the beginning of the end, and jumped ship (to the terrible compromise of AIM Express[0]). I had preferred Meebo for my third-party web messaging for a few years (handy in computer labs where you don't own the box!), but the Google acquisition took that away, so I'd switched to imo. Now they're both kaput. A sad day for multiprotocol web messaging. [0] http://www.aim.com/products/express/ http://www.aim.com/products/express/

tobeportable 13y ago

aka what's app story made us craving

jscheel 13y ago

Well, looks like I'm deleting imo right now. I have absolutely no need for their own chat network.

TallGuyShort 13y ago

Any recommendations for an Android messaging app that allows you to be connected to mutliple Google accounts at once? I loved imo.im for this, and it was way better than any others I tried.

psykovsky 13y ago
ChatSecure? Xabber?
jinushaun 13y ago
Hangout supports multiple Google accts.

bhaile 13y ago

Bummer. Used them for several years with the web client. Used Android client off and on at various times. As others commented, chat history across all services was great and one of their strengths. Switching to Adium as I don't know anyone using imo.im's network. 5 years later, all the chat services will realize "We need to find a way to talk across services". Either XMPP or some other standard will become commonplace. Seems cyclical.

uladzislau 13y ago

IM+ is a good alternative https://plus.im https://plus.im

twodayslate 13y ago

Third party messaging was the only reason I used imo

gnicholas 13y ago

IMO, this seems like a pretty bad idea.

marlin 13y ago

Tried their web app a couple of years ago and was rather impressed (mainly due to their Skype support). However, it drifted away from my focus. Whoa they have their own network. But then again, their original strength was the combination of OTHER im networks, where i could communicate with them all in one place. Right now, i wonder why ever try this again?

ranndino 13y ago

imo is a great chat client. slick, modern, beautiful & has a web app. This decision is very unfortunate as there don't seem to be any good alternatives. Here are their founders explaining the reasons behind it. http://maratryndin.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/why-imo-messenger-is-cutting-support-for-third-party-im-clients/ http://maratryndin.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/why-imo-messenge...

ranndino 13y ago