ICQ Question

[Blood Ghoul]

I know this might not be the perfect location to post this but we all seem to use ICQ a bunch to communicate. Over the past couple days I have been trying to send people messages and I get an auto reply "they do not accept messages unless I register my phone number with ICQ." I am wary about giving anyone else my phone number (God knows the Republicans called about 20 times yesterday). Has everyone done this or had any issues? I am not sure if this is something new or I have just hit a group of people that require that step to have been completed.

Blood Ghoul

 

[MalagAste]

I've never been asked to provide a phone #... Really leery about that one. As for ICQ .... I've switched long ago to Trillian.... With it you can use Yahoo, ICQ, MSN and such ..... I prefer it to ICQ as far as things go... I think it's less "risky".

 

[DJAd]

I get the same message. I don't give my phone number. I just wait for the other person to authorise me then you are able to chat.

 

[Blood Ghoul]

Thanks for the info and I will also not give them my phone number.

 

[Kojak]

lol - you actually had to think about it?

 

[Uvtha]

I know this might not be the perfect location to post this but we all seem to use ICQ a bunch to communicate. Over the past couple days I have been trying to send people messages and I get an auto reply "they do not accept messages unless I register my phone number with ICQ." I am wary about giving anyone else my phone number (God knows the Republicans called about 20 times yesterday). Has everyone done this or had any issues? I am not sure if this is something new or I have just hit a group of people that require that step to have been completed.

Blood Ghoul

Could just make a dummy google voice account. If that sort of number would be accepted.

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

People still use ICQ?...la

 

[DJAd]

People still use ICQ?...la

Until they build a much needed friends list into UO then yes.

 

[Mandrake of DF]

People still use ICQ?...la

It has been, and still is the nr #1 communication way in UO by players.

 

[Nexus]

Pidgin!

 

[Spock's Beard]

ICQ is crapware and has been going downhill for a decade.

Like everyone else said, download Trillian or Pidgin. They let you use your existing ICQ#, as well as existing accounts to all the other messaging services like Yahoo and such, with one program.

 

[Uriah Heep]

And if you do go with ICQ, be sure to get the Pro2003 version, the newest version is crap

 

[Lord Obsidian]

Newer ICQ clients are simply beyond crapware. I have used the 2003 client (with self made ad blocking modifications) until just recently, but had to switch to miranda (http://www.miranda-im.org) due to troubles with adding new contacts to the list (problems with authorization). Miranda is highly customizable in how it looks and which protocols it works with; so this might also be worth a try.

 

[Zuckuss]

I don't know why they have made ICQ progressively worse with each version.

 

[Uriah Heep]

I don't know why they have made ICQ progressively worse with each version.

Following the path blazed by Windows

 

[CovenantX]

use a 555 number like they do in the movies if you don't want your real phone number on your icq. (that's what I did =X)

 

[Captn Norrington]

Random warning for everyone, when using ICQ, try not to give any real life info to anyone, even if you know them in real life. I made the mistake of sending someone my personal, not game related email, and even though I know they didn't tell anyone about it, I have been recieving emails written in Russian ever since. (ICQ is made by Russians for anyone that didn't know). So, apparently ICQ spies on what you write to people for marketing purposes lol.

 

[Victim of Siege]

"You want hot Russian Bride?"

 

[Captn Norrington]

"You want hot Russian Bride?"

That's actually what one of them said when I put it into google translate lol. Usually they are marketing spam for toys or guns.

 

[Victim of Siege]

That's actually what one of them said when I put it into google translate lol. Usually they are marketing spam for toys or guns.

yeah, that's the same thing I got when I translated a couple of messages, that's why I quit using ICQ. just not worth the BS.

 

[Zuckuss]

I believe it was actually invented by an Israeli company (Mirabilis) and then AOL owned it for a while. Now a Russian company called Mail.Ru Group owns it.

 

[MalagAste]

Random warning for everyone, when using ICQ, try not to give any real life info to anyone, even if you know them in real life. I made the mistake of sending someone my personal, not game related email, and even though I know they didn't tell anyone about it, I have been recieving emails written in Russian ever since. (ICQ is made by Russians for anyone that didn't know). So, apparently ICQ spies on what you write to people for marketing purposes lol.

Don't think it was made by Russians but it was SOLD to a Russian Company some years back.... I'm thinking shortly before 2003.... anyway that's about when I switched to Trillian.

 

[BrianFreud]

I get the same message. I don't give my phone number. I just wait for the other person to authorise me then you are able to chat.

Actually, you're one of the few on my list where I get that auto reply msg.

 

[Captn Norrington]

Don't think it was made by Russians but it was SOLD to a Russian Company some years back.... I'm thinking shortly before 2003.... anyway that's about when I switched to Trillian.

Ah, yep your right. I forgot about that.

 

[Captn Norrington]

I believe it was actually invented by an Israeli company (Mirabilis) and then AOL owned it for a while. Now a Russian company called Mail.Ru Group owns it.

Yep, your right. I completely forgot about all that.

 

[WootSauce]

Even if you use Trillian, Pidgin, etc, all of the traffic is routed through the Russian company that purchased it from AOL. Google it a bit. It blows me away that it is still the communication of choice by the community and that there has not been a purposeful shift away from it.

 

[Captn Norrington]

It's UO.....we are all kinda set in our gaming ways already lol. Pretty sure we are the only game community that still uses ICQ.

 

[WootSauce]

I use it as well, it's just an extremely shady method of communication that is completely open to be mined by entities outside of any US jurisdiction is all. There was even an injunction to stop the sale when it was proposed. Again, Google if interested in specifics.

 

[MalagAste]

I use it as well, it's just an extremely shady method of communication that is completely open to be mined by entities outside of any US jurisdiction is all. There was even an injunction to stop the sale when it was proposed. Again, Google if interested in specifics.

All the more reason UO needs it's OWN version of a friends list... something you can chat with your "friends", see who's on, who's not and send messages if they are there or not.