Was always wondering why most web hosts prefer to use ICQ rather than Yahoo Messenger?

Any particular reasons?

Learner

it works behind firewalls with ease icq is a pain in the butt to setup behind a firewall. Even following the instructions.

I guess it depends on your firewall settings, but I have set it up behind a firewall and using a proxy server without any problems.

In case you are using an MS Proxy Server and have the proxy client installed on your computer, you do NOT choose the "Behind Firewall" option. The proy server looks after the proper routing to and from your desktop.

[Edited by Racin' Rob on 09-07-2000 at 06:05 PM]

i can get it working no problem. I just dont like icq. but theres a lot of uk people that cant access icq cos there isps block it. God knows why cos they encourage chatting.

Yahoo Messenger is better than ICQ for these reasons:

1. It works behind a firewall or proxy server easily. It works with both SOCKS and HTTP proxy servers.
2. It alerts you when you get mail.
3. Has built-in voice chat.
4. Downloads friends list from the server. Very useful if you log-in from different computers each time. Last time I checked out ICQ, you have to create a friends list on the local machine every time you use a different machine. ICQ doesn't store the friends list on the server. It stores them on your computer.
5. Yahoo Msg uses easy to remember "usernames" which is also the user's Email address. With ICQ, you need to remember horrible 8 digit numbers.

Now, use your head.

Cheers,
TheWingThing.

you hit the nail on the head all good reasons why hosts should use yahoo too :-).

Well, you've given me something to think about. I think I may start using it myself. Does anyone know any reasons NOT to?

when it goes down it goes down with style. Talking hours and but leaves u logged into the system. Making ur online friends think u are ignoring them lol.

Originally posted by CFoxHost
Well, you've given me something to think about. I think I may start using it myself. Does anyone know any reasons NOT to? For providing customer support the strongest reason not to is that icq appears to have a larger number of people using it. I say "appears" because I've never seen any real stats on the issue. Yahoo Chat is certainly newer, so ICQ has had a greater opportunity to build a following.

In my experience Yahoo Chat is more stable, but I'd rather not require customers to install something they probably don't have.

Oh, one possible advantage to ICQ: as far as I've seen, there's no way to have Yahoo build a log of your conversations. Maybe I missed that feature, but it'd be helpful to be able to look back on transcripts of chats that reps have had with customers.

I tend to like both of them.

And I am pretty sure ICQ has more users than Yahoo, but AIM by far has the most.

.

Ok im not sure what happened there :) MY question to you would be why do you want to use ICQ, god forbid it be for support, when someone has a problem, they dont want to have to download something, fill out many forms then try to find you on the network. FOr support use good old fashioned support, live phone conversation.

Does Yahoo Messager work with Linux?

I believe ICQ does?

I've stopped using them since they tended to be unproductive. I'd go online and end up chatting and checking out websites people suggest etc... instead of working. Now webhostlink.com tends to stop me from being productive :) time to get to PHP.

I already run AIM, ICQ, and MSN Messenger as well as HumanClick. I think I'll drop the MSN and try Yahoo :D

Well,
If the Keyword is instant support than anything else, my ideal choice will be humanclick live chat (http://www.humanclick.com)
Just embed a button on your homepage/support-page and that's it.

Here's why:
1. No downloads
2. No searching for a user/remembering his user id
3. No proxy/firewall migraines
4. You can copy the conversation and save the transcripts as a text file
5. It's presently free.
6. Works with any java enabled browser.

I don't prefer phone as it means I have to call IDD from India to my host in the US (USD 1.75/min). Also, I'll have to keep scribbling whatever I hear on the phone.

With humanclick, it's Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C, Alt+Tab, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+S. Voila!

If there's a better/similar choice, someone tell me.

Originally posted by TheWingThing
Yahoo Messenger is better than ICQ for these reasons:

1. It works behind a firewall or proxy server easily. It works with both SOCKS and HTTP proxy servers.
2. It alerts you when you get mail.
3. Has built-in voice chat.
4. Downloads friends list from the server. Very useful if you log-in from different computers each time. Last time I checked out ICQ, you have to create a friends list on the local machine every time you use a different machine. ICQ doesn't store the friends list on the server. It stores them on your computer.
5. Yahoo Msg uses easy to remember "usernames" which is also the user's Email address. With ICQ, you need to remember horrible 8 digit numbers.

Now, use your head.

Cheers,
TheWingThing.

I use my ICQ's behind a firewall

My ICQ alerts me of emails in multiple accounts

I have multiple accounts which I can change to easily

I remember and see all of my friends in my multiple lists (on single ICQ) by whatever i choose to name them, which is usually their first name and last initial, can be anything you want

I can have multiple lists, according to whose offline and who is online

There are way too many features to list here, check them out at http://www.icq.com/features/ , the new ICQ can do reminders, 8 modes with custom messages, address book, history, file swapping, notes, to do lists, phone, drag names to a chat room.....list goes on and on.

I can ignore whoever i choose or be invisible to anyone.


Now, use your head.


[Edited by Greg on 09-19-2000 at 08:21 PM]

But there is no reason to see it as a choice between them. At least not for support. I can understand someone wanting one over the other for personal use.

"ICQ...ICQ...ICQ...ICQ...ICQ...ICQ...ICQ...ICQ!!"

I love it, though it tends to freak out at me at times! :) Its like windows! The User Interface is awesome and it lacks stability, but they are getting to it. ICQ 2000 has more stability then ICQ 99b :)

Plus, I think ICQ is bieng used by a lot more ppl then Yahoo is.
I use ICQ, AIM, MSN, and Yahoo!, but ICQ is the best! ;)

each and everytime ive used icq i get this - people sending me annoying links to porno sites. this is something i do not have to worry about on yahoo :-).

I've had about 3 links to porno sites sent to me in the 4 years i've had ICQ.


Also, you can choose the option "Accept messages ONLY from those in your contact list."


It seems that all the people who are complaining about ICQ DO NOT know how to use it!!

Hey but you guys didn't answer this:

If I use a different machine, the old versions of ICQ store the contact list on your computer and not on the server. So you would have to remember the ICQ numbers of all your contacts or to run an obscure search to create the list again, if you go to a new PC or you formatted your harddisk. Now, has ICQ started storing the contact list on the server or is it still the same ol' story?
Somebody explain.
Also, are yahoo messenger and AIM available for Linux? I know LICQ is available though.


TheWingThing.

i know how to use it i just dont like it i used it for six months. i much prefer yahoo.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think ICQ does backups of ppl's user databases, since it would take too much server room (imagine trying to back up DBs with well over 3000 users on a regular basis and the amount of time it would take). They do keep passwords and other 'info' on the servers, but that's about it.

Originally posted by BC
...I don't think ICQ does backups of ppl's user databases... DBs with well over 3000 users on a regular basis... They do keep passwords and other 'info' on the servers...

BC, please explain what you exactly were referring to when you said *people's user databases*... did you mean the log of the actual chat, or something else?

Learner

Learner, I was referring to the DB file format that ICQ uses to store an ICQ user's info, all its users (and their numbers), chat logs (if chosen), etc.

Very right BC. The ICQ servers will run out of everything, space, bandwidth, everything! People like me who have 600ppl on there list, with there db file size being 30mb. Imagine taking back up of that on there server... :eek:

Yahoo doesnt have so many users, so you cant compare the saving "contact list" thing with icq, which has a HUGE dbase. And as the porno stuff goes! I dun get them anymore! I used to, but no more! Also, the other Chain Messages and URLS you get, can be prevented by telling every user on your list that you dunt appreciate them sending "Crap" to you! :) And if they continue to do so, Bomb them.. hehehe.. ;)


[Edited by kunal on 09-21-2000 at 01:54 AM]

Hey Kunal,
I just want the service to store the usernames and the groups in my contact list on the server. Need not store all the info in my DB file.

So that can pretty much be stored in plain text. Yahoo Messenger does this.

All your preferences, logs and stuff can be stored locally.

Say you have 1000 users on your contact list

The length of the username is 8 bytes. Keep it a max of 15 bytes, say all the 5 billoin ppl in the world get 10 accounts each.

The length of the groups' name is another 10 bytes max.
The email is another 20 bytes.
Their phone numbers and other info can be retrieved using the Contact's UIN from the database, so that you get the latest info if a contact updates his info.

If you want to reduce server overhead, you can store the contact info too in your contacts database. This will be another 50 bytes per contact.

Add some delimiter characters for each record.
So each record is 50 bytes max.
Or if the contact info (email, phone) of your contacts are also saved in your database, it will be 100 bytes per contact.

For 1000 users, the size of the list is less than 50 KB. Or 100 KB in the latter case, which isn't necessary.

What more do you need to be stored on the server?
Dissect your DB file on your machine and see how much space is used up by the contact and group names alone, and not the size of the entire file.

Yahoo, AIM and MSN Messenger all save the contact list on the server. If the service gives 5 MB per user for emails. can't it give 50 KB per user for the contact list?

Check your premises pal. ICQ didn't think of this when they launched and so they never added this feature even later. This is one essential feature.

Say, you access the net from a friend's home or a cybercafe or your hard disk crashed, would you like to build your Contact list each time?

Even now, mirabilis can implement this in the next release of their ICQ to upload the contact list to the server automatically.

This lack of making it more user friendly is why I am not in favour of ICQ.

I wish they did. And oops! for the long reply.

TheWingThing.

Agreed. :)

But does Yahoo! or AIM or MSN let you do this??? :)
ICQ Channels
ICQ Email Address Import
ICQ Integration for Outlook
ICQ Homepages Notification
ICQ Offline Reminder
Wireless Pager Messages
ICQphone
ICQ SMS
Non ICQ Contacts

If you wont more info on each check out -> http://www.icq.com/products/whatsnew.html