AIM is back.

A real AIM server, running on Moody Teas hardware. Buddy lists, away messages, profiles, chat rooms, warn levels, the whole thing. Bring any AIM client from 1997 through 2012, or a modern one.

Port 5190 is the AIM default, so most clients need nothing but the server name.

You need an invite code. Ask John.

Invite code Screen name Password Sign Up

Screen names are 3-16 characters and start with a letter. Passwords are 6-16 characters. This is a hobby server on a hobby protocol from 1997 - use a password you do not use anywhere else.

The authentic way: real AIM 5.1

• Windows 10/11 - install AIM 5.9.6089 from oldversion.com, quit it, delete C:\Program Files (x86)\AIM\aimapi.dll, set aim.exe to Windows XP compatibility mode, then launch it.
• macOS (Intel or Apple Silicon, no VM needed) - use the aim-for-macos project.
• Linux - wine aim513036.exe, installer on archive.org.

Then at the sign-on screen: Setup → Sign On/Off → Connection, and set Host to aim.moodyteas.net, Port 5190.

The easy way: a modern client

Pidgin (Windows, Linux) or Adium (macOS). Add an AIM account, then under Advanced set the server to aim.moodyteas.net and port 5190.

AIM 6.x and 7.x

Also supported, but they need serviceManifest.xml edited by hand - ask and I will walk you through it.