I keep seeing posts with ICQ I do not know anyone in the real world who uses ICQ anymore, and I started using it when it first came out. Are we all stuck in the last century and that is why I keep seeing "Icq me"? Surely by now, there is a better means besides a chat client no one I know has used since the mid 2000's I got facebook messenger, whatsapp, skype, 10 different email addresses, my corporate email, Discord, Teamspeak. Can traders pick one of those please instead of something that pretty much everyone else stopped using years ago?
But "everyone" in UO does use ICQ still, even if many are also on Discord. You don't actually have to use the ICQ client. Install Trillian, which allows many chat protocols/accounts to be used, including Facebook. Also, Discord doesn't seem to have an option to be a viable compact asynchronous messenger like ICQ or chat clients that support it like Trillian.
Though almost all things you mention are not appropriate for gaming, unless you're personal friends (facebook/whatsapp/skype, etc.)... a bit of a useless list.
I guess there is some irony in someone playing a 20 year old game griping about an obsolete messenger, but I see it in use no where else
I loaded it up on my phone and was surprised to see so many old players I forgot about. Also it showed when they last were on ICQ, which only a few still used it recently.
I had a 5 digit ICQ number, that is how long I used it. But it has been so long since I fired it up, I don't even have the email account that I need to recover it. I guess I won't be buying or selling much if I have to install another program.
If you can guess your old password thats all you need to do then. The trouble I see with ICQ is changing your password, it wants your phone number to do it.
I stopped using it when Russia bought it.
A lot of people have played UO for a long time and they always had ICQ so they keep it because friends know where to find them, doesn't mean they don't also have something else, like Skype or Discord as well.
I do agree though that it became less popular after the Russians bought it.
100% in agreement with original post. I use all the same things too. I'm baffled as to why ICQ is still so dominant but I suppose it does tie in with why people have stuck with a game where the client drives one's CPU to the max, when not logged on, still!
I still use ICQ purely because.. that's what other people use. I stopped using it for almost a decade but not everyone is going to switch, too, unfortunately, so when I started playing UO again.. well.. I had to use it. Mad - but I am a part of the madness too!