AIM to Set Away Message ... Permanently

AOL announced Friday it will be shutting down its trailblazing instant messaging service AIM on Dec. 15, the Verge reports. According to TechCrunch, AOL Instant Messenger became its own standalone app separate from the AOL desktop in 1997. It would go on to become many people's first experience with online social interactions. “From setting the perfect away message to that familiar ring of an incoming chat, AIM will always have a special place in our hearts,” AOL said in an email to AIM users. The messaging service was popular into the 2000s but eventually lost out to texting and social media sites like Facebook. Regardless, it will be fondly remembered by computer users of a certain age. "Farewell to AIM and my embarrassing screen name KDog313. Being a teenager will always sound like one of your incoming messages," writes Josh Constine at TechCrunch. [Door closing sound effect.] (More AIM stories.)