The Problems with AIM

Many of you are content to keep saying "AIM works, let's just keep using it". But really, it doesn't. It's hurting our new member influx because AIM will not allow you to make an account without a phone number (see below). There are perhaps other problems too, but that's the major one. Tell me honestly, who among you would have made an AIM account to join URPG activity if it required a phone number? I wouldn't. Why should we expect other people to?

Current AIM sign up, with all information filled out as obviously fake (besides current AIM email I put in, but it doesn't seem to give an error for removing it):


Feel free to comment on this or any other problems of AIM, solutions to the mentioned problems, or suggestions for alternatives. Personally IRC seems like the best alternative, as it's been well noted Skype has its own vast array of problems.

 

http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f400/thoughts-irc-173010-post5466945/#post5466945

tl;dr to my previous tl;dr

I like IRC better and it's better.

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Ask HKim or Monbrey or someone else smarter than me to implement dicebots and you're all set. Actually, you'd probably be able to make some sort of bot that grubs info from the MonbreyDex and displays it in the chat, but that's probably not necessary. Though... a !mail function would be nice.

 

Lots more discussion here btw.