Do you guys remember Windows Live Messenger? The thing that came before Skype on the endless cycle of "communication platform gets overshadowed by bigger and better one?" It was great for those who used it in its prime, but I wasn't one of them. Sadly, Windows Live Messenger shut down in 2012 when Microsoft decided to promote Skype over Messenger.
Luckily, for people like me who want to be nostalgic for something they never actually did, there exists a revival project called Escargot, who seek to bring back the messenger clients of the early 2000s. They've got Windows Live Messenger versions all the way from the very first one up to WLM 2009 (in retrospect, that is a very unfortunate acronym), and are trying to get support for the 2011 and 2012 versions as well. If it's your cup of tea, they also have Yahoo! Messenger and have partnered with NINA, another revival project, to support AIM. Even better, they've archived some very cool extensions that enhance the user experience!
You probably came here looking for the Windows Live Messenger downloads mentioned on the main page. They can be found on Escargot's website here. When Windows Live Messenger was around the first time, you needed an actual email address, but because this is on a new server, you can simply make an @escargot.chat email address that will work just as well.
This post was finished on March 17, 2023 at 3:21 PM.