Introduction

Welcome to the NINA & Escargot community.

Read all of this, and I mean all of it, don't half-ass it and then get ridiculed later because you were told to read this page and then cried because it was "too long". If you think it's too long, you're just lazy and will receive no sympathy from other users or admins who care.

Terms and Terminology

Terms you need to know and understand before doing something like, as an example, asking about AIM in the AOL forum or Discord channel, a most egregious faux pas.

AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) and AOL are two different things

AIM is a small instant messaging program similar to MSN Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger. Where as AOL is a full on, classic desktop program which not only provides the ability to chat, but also send/receive email, look up content, browse the web, etc. Calling AIM "AOL" is confusing in the community, akin to calling "Windows Live Messenger" just "Windows" because it just happens to be the first word.

The term "group chat" is a bad term mostly centered around MSN and little else

The proper term is "chat room". Messages sent privately between two people (like a DM) are "instant messages" or "private messages", those are never called "chats", that's just even more confusing. This is a bizarre and regrettable artifact of Microsoft calling things by names nobody else did.

NINA & Escargot are effectively the same thing

Escargot is only MSN/WLM and NINA is everything else, but it's the same user system, same login, same developers, same everything; they are 100% shared across the platform, in fact it's a single platform/network.

Is Escargot down?

No.

Old Internet Etiquette or "Why isn't anyone talking to me?"

This isn't just useful information for NINA & Escargot it really applies to pretty much any online community, especially retro-oriented community.

Classic messaging apps aren't meant to be used as on-demand entertainment

That isn't to say they aren't (or can't be) entertaining, it means that you sign on, let the buddy list/contact list hang in the background while you do other things on your computer or mobile device. You can, of course, message someone and they may respond, or you can wait for someone to message you. However, with some younger new users, they expect that if they sign in they'll be instantly bombarded with entertaining conversation like they're pressing play on a video, the end result of this mindset is they will literally stare at an empty buddy list/contact list waiting for something to happen to them. One has to be pro-active in getting (or keeping) a conversation going.

Hello? Hello! Anyone here??!????

Yes, there are probably tons of people around, but keep in mind you're taking a step back in time to the old Internet. That means NINA and Escargot are service where you have to partake in actual conversation and wait for someone to reply, we aren't infested with bots waiting to please you. Interacting with real people in a retro-community means that you say something, try to get a conversation going, and give it some time.

It doesn't mean you join a chat room, demand someone acknowledge you, then if no one does within 30 seconds you immediately leave. You can say "anyone like XYZ?", "I'm about to play this game, I'll be on this server, or on this stream."

In other words: chat rooms are only dead if you make them dead, if everyone else is sitting and waiting for someone else to start a conversation, then nobody is talking about anything. Furthermore, conversations can sometimes be fast and sometimes slow, you may say something but not get a response for some time or at all, maybe talk about something else after a while. That's just how old Internet conversation was for a couple of decades, because it's the old Internet, not television or ChatGPT.

More on this topic can be found in the form of the "be cool" philosophy as outlined by our supporter Phlud: read more (highly recommended you read more).

Where can I find people to chat with?

Currently we have a #contacts channel on our Discord server, full of people who want to chat including a little information about their interests, hobbies, etc. You can add your information and people will (probably) message you. This channel will be moving to the website very soon, but for now it's hackily on the Discord.

Before you FAQ

I messaged someone and it said it couldn't be delivered because they aren't online! Your service is broken!

They're not online. Sounds like it's working as intended.

When will AOL (or whatever else) be free?

We don't know. Projects like these take time, money, effort. AIM and ICQ are now free, while AOL remains behind small (but reasonable) paywall to help pay for development. We understand that not everyone can afford $25 for AOL, but we don't sell your data. Hosting, domains, etc are not free, so while we develop things we typically help fund everything by letting people in early willing to pay.

We need your help

If you want to help, the best way right now is to help us keep the lights on and deal with our growth by donating. If you can't do that, tell others about our services, spread the word, but please don't spam.

Is the Escargot down? I can't connect, it must be down lol!

I already said, "No." We don't go down all the time. It's something on your end, re-patch, re-read tutorials, etc.

Extended FAQ

We have FAQ pages on our websites (e.g. main website FAQ) with specific things for those services, but sometimes other questions remain, perhaps meta-questions, or for weirdly specific questions which come up once in a blue moon. This is for that.

How much do I pay for AIM/ICQ/AOL/WebEscargot access?

Most of our services are now free, though AOL, WebEscargot, and some others are still under heavy development and a small donation is required. Check out the Rewards section here to see each tier, the donation amount required, and the benefits offered.

What are PowerTools?

PowerTools is a set of premium features available exclusively to supporters. Think of it as our version of Discord Nitro or X Premium. Currently, it provides access to the Last Call chat room on Discord and provides proxy access for file transfers, direct connection, etc in AIM. In the near future, it will unlock additional features and capabilities within AIM, ICQ, and more. We'll have a page for it specifically very soon.

How many UINs or screennames can I register?

You can register 5 screennames/UINs/PPNs under the same email address, and we highly recommend you use the same email address for all -- there is a reason for this, but it's an account management feature still under development.

Can I donate on someone else's behalf? Can I donate for a friend?

Yes, this is allowed, however that donation will never be applied to your account(s), no matter what happens between you and your friend. Our database will simply mark it as a donation from them.

Can I transfer my supporter status to someone else?

No. This isn't, however, because of money. Instead it has to do with a few issues which are best demonstrated by a "hypothetical" situation:

Tina is an alpha tier supporter, but isn't interested in using the service anymore. So she wants her supporter status moved to Pat. That's easy enough, so it's done. One year later Tina returns and says "I was an alpha supporter, can I have that status back?" She genuinely doesn't remember giving the status to anyone else and because the original conversation about the issue is now gone, it can't be proven.

As you can see it creates a few issues, the least of which it requires us to do additional tracking of where it was moved to. Tina technically did nothing wrong, she really doesn't remember giving it up, so she feels angry that we are now telling her she no longer had that status. It's just easier for us not to allow this.

You can, however, still donate on someone else's behalf and the finer details make it clear why that's still allowed.

UUHHHH is NINA or Escargot down lol?!!?

How many times do I have to tell you, no. See all the other times above. It's a problem on your end, re-patch, see tutorials, ask for help elsewhere.