Running AOL Instant Messenger in 2026?

There's a photo in my library from years ago showing my computer running AIM. A wave of nostalgia washed over me, as expected. Then, yesterday I read Here's how I host my own AIM server and I had to try it. Read Veronica's post for everything you'd need, but basically all I did was... Run the server binary on a VPS with the IP configured as a listener Installed AIM 5.1 via the AIM installer from archive.org using wine (on Linux) Changed the AIM config to use my server IP. That was pretty much it. AIM 5.1 for Windows running via wine on Linux The chat sounds are so great to hear again. If you're interested in trying it and have an AIM or newer ICQ client installed, let me know and I'll add you to the server. It's fun! ✍️ Reply by email