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Instant messaging

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Zoe (talk | contribs) at 22:56, 20 December 2002. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

An instant messenger is a computer application which allows instant text communication through a network such as the Internet. An instant messenger is a client which hooks up to an instant messaging service. Instant messaging differs from email in that conversations over instant messaging mediums happen in real-time. Generally, both parties in the conversation see each line of text right after it is typed (line-by-line), thus making it more like a telephone conversation than exchanging letters.

Popular instant messaging services on the public Internet (as of this writing) include AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, and ICQ. These services owe many ideas to an older (and still popular) medium known as Internet Relay Chat (IRC).

Instant messaging has arisen in parallel in many places, and each application has its own protocols. This has led to users running many instant messaging applications simultaneously to be available on several networks. Attempts at setting standards for instant messaging - IETF's SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and Simple (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leverage), Apex (Application Exchange Core), Prim (Presence and Instant Messaging Protocol)

Additionally, application writers have made attempts at covering all standards. Examples here include Trillian and Jabber.

On December 19, 2002, AOL Time Warner announced that they had been issued a United States patent for instant messaging, but they also said that they had no plans on enforcing their patent at the present time.

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