# AOL Instant Messenger

Closed (down). Founded 1997-05-01. Closed 2017-12-15.
Site: [aim.com](https://aim.com)

1997 to 2017. You have just received an instant message.

## Why it lasted
- The buddy list, the away message, the profile HTML. American adolescence as a protocol.

## Near deaths
- MSN, then Facebook chat, then the phone. AIM became the thing your dad still had.

## What would finish it
- AOL, 15 Dec 2017. The door slam after a decade of nobody being there.

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