After years of nothing but network problems and excruciatingly slow file transfers using MSN Windows Live Messenger, I've decided to give it up in favour of a far more stable and less bloated protocol/chat application, namely Google Talk.

But OH MY GOD people take my switching IM protocols as some sort of personal affront and get all indignant when I explain that no, I'm not trying to make them switch exclusively, just that they won't be able to contact me via WLM anymore. 99% of them have Google accounts anyway so all they'd have to do is use something like Pidgin and it would be completely transparent that I'm on a different network. Why are people like this?

You suck I can't believe you're abandoning MSN.

{-}Strikethrough{/-}

I haven't even looked at my Google Talk or Wave accounts yet.

I have not sent an IM since High School .. o0

I guess text messages took over, but I stopped that even a while ago.

FB and Twitter took over, IMO. Only time I IM someone nowadays is if I'm using GMAIL Chat when checking my e-mails, and even that is rare.

Oh hey, this works. I didn't even think there was an actual command, I was just trying to do like what slashdot users used to do with ^H^H^H^H or whatever backspace was.

I use GTalk every day. I like it because it works seamlessly with everyone who has a gmail account, plus it ties into gmail's video chat capability, etc.

I do not IM at all.

I use Adium. Most of the people that I chat with are using GTalk via their Gmail page. I always keep my Gmail page open.

Why are you abandoning MSN? Just connect MSN into your GTalk using service discovery. I've been doing that for months now. I have 2 MSN accounts that go into GTalk, allows me to login via multiple places, and on my phone easily.

That said, many of my friends absolutely REFUSE to use anything except AIM and WLM clients. Drives me crazy.

Time for new friends. Be mine (valentine's is almost here anyway!)

Pidgin. And then you just have an account on all the services.