The death of MSN -what to use instead?

[darkly]

So now that they've killed MSN, what are you all using instead?

I don't like Skype, it might be good for phone calls but I really just want to have a decent instant messenger and for that Skype is just awful.
Problem is of course if u happen to have lots of people from msn that you'd like to keep. MSN was good because most people had it, but now what?
What are people using instead? Did you all just switch to Skype or something else? What's the new MSN out there? I refuse to believe Skype is the new IM
and even if it is I still don't want to use it.


*Edited for lazy readers*
PEOPLE OF THE WORLD UNITE!!
Viable options for instant messaging so far seems to be any IM that can connect to multiple IM services. They are atleast meant to be used as IMs and have better options for this as opposed to it just being a future "that is there". They can even be used on phones (depending on which one you get). Suggestions so far:
https://www.trillian.im/
https://adium.im/

[Brotherman]

WTF! THEY KILLED MSN! When this happened? (I haven't used it in awhile, but still.)

I never really liked facebook chat, I make sure I leave off. And I never tried skype. I've used google chat afew month ago, it's ok. I find myself just texting here lately.

[tao]

MSN stopped working on my computer for a while and I never bothered to fix it.

I miss my custom smileys

[darkly]

Me too ^

The end was officially April 8th but it worked for a couple of weeks after. I have had some people on my msn contact list for years, doesn't look like they started using Skype though, been too quiet there.

I think I might try out trillian, https://www.trillian.im/ and just convert my contact list there.
I need a good IM chat every now and then!

[Agent Of Fortune]

I hate skype with a passion, but I've been using it since MSN died. I'll have to look into trillian.

[darkly]

I also found this the other day: https://messengergeek.wordpress.com/201 ... mment-4976

It's a way to get old MSN working again, it'll probably stop working eventually too. I haven't tried it myself but judging from the amount of comments I'd say it's a good chance it will.
If this whole thing hadn't been such an obvious downgrade I probably would have kept on using Skype but they didn't even bother making Skype better for IM which really pisses me off. Anyway I'll keep an eye out for other IM's that might be taking the place of MSN. There really isn't much fun having an instant messenger if you are the only one using it.

[Juanfran]

I don't really use online messengers anymore... skype is kinda bulky so I only switch it on when I want to video call someone. I use Whatsapp and WeChat now, still waiting for ole Hoss to install it. We ought to get a group chat going

Hit me up on WhatsApp - +60-112-627-4038
Don't try to call that number, it won't work

[darkly]

Daym! No online chat anymore? But then ppl can chat with u like.. anytime?!! On the phone!!??? Damnit!!!! Now I feel old


*edited like two month later due to laziness*
I keep thinking that that didn't come out quite right so I'm just gonna be sneaky and add something this way
Group chatting sounds fun, maybe I'll get one of those whats stuff one day.

[darkly]

Although, I just realized that I do want people to read what I added so.. *bump*

[Juanfran]

well you have what my friend insists on calling an intelligent phone, right?

[darkly]

I do indeed, so it's just a free app then? I'll look into it.

[Yukupo]

Yeah its the dark days of instant messaging it seems.

I'm on Skype, Google Hangouts and Facebook chat. None of these are as good as MSN back in the day. (Later MSN sucked terribly though.) I actually like Skype though (somewhat). Hangouts and Facebook are too simple for my tastes but I have contacts on there so I go where I'm needed.

One benefit to Facebook and Hangouts, however, is you can use them both on a computer and on mobile devices. (Hangouts is Android only.)

[darkly]

^You should get an IM that can connect to multiple IM services such as Trillian (https://www.trillian.im/) or Adium (https://adium.im/).
This way you can keep your contacts in one place even though they use different IMs and you can use something that is better suited for IM as opposed to having to use whatever your contacts use. Trillian is also available for android and I think it can also connect to facebook. I am pretty sure there are others so it could be well worth it to have a look around.

This is what I am going to use from now on, an IM that can connect to multiple IM services. There may not be any IMs as good as MSN but I'm pretty sure I can do a lot better than Skype or facebook chat. I'm convincing my contacts to do the same, people are surprisingly lazy and are still only beginning to look for other options.

[Yukupo]

I used to use Pidgin. It was nice enough but there were just little things that bothered me about it. (And I used Trillian like 10 years ago, cool that its still around.) I never seem to have the best experience on them though with things like Facebook chat. It always seems off. It tells me people are offline when they aren't, won't send offline messages, etc. I can't speak for Trillian or Adium as I haven't tried them, but I've heard Google hangouts doesn't work well via third party messengers.

I'll probably try these out later but like I said, I actually like Skype alright.

[darkly]

^Whatever works for you. So, Pidgin you say. I know nothing about it or if that was something you used ages ago but I am willing to look into basically anything that could be an option today. I don't think any of the options that I have found so far are working perfectly with absolutely everything right now but I'm hoping they will adapt and improve. I haven't used adium at all as it is mac only, I haven't used Trillian with all other IMs that it can connect to either. I know there are others and I was hoping other people would have some advice on that.

But I refuse to let the death of MSN kill all Instant messaging for me, I kind off get the feeling whilst posting this topic as well as talking to other people that people just gave up on IM all of a sudden. Nobody really seems to bother finding the alternative for MSN, they got lazy and reverted to use facebook which really isn't made for that kind of chatting at all.
But I'm thinking fine, they can be lazy. If I use an IM that can connect to Skype (they don't seem to like Skype at all but they still haven't changed to something else) and whatnot I can still chat to them using something that I prefer and isn't as intrusive as for example Skype and maybe help them find alternatives as well. They aren't going to look so it seems I have to.

When I made this topic I was looking for something as big as MSN but it is clear no such IM exist today judging by the responses both here and otherwise. Mainly because nobody really seem to be looking for one, which is a huge disappointment. I did not expect people to give up so easily and just allow Microsoft to kill all of IM such as it was.

I figured despite this forum being kind of quiet it would still be a good place to get some info on the IM front and what else to use because many of you were once active IM users and appreciated the kind of chats one could have. And many of you are also active elsewhere on the internet.
When it comes to other people, well some of them are just lazy and will basically use whatever other people use, those I can advice. The rest well I can't hang on to people who just doesn't care to stay in touch that way.