Slashdot Mirror
ICQ Starts Blocking Alternative Clients
An anonymous reader writes "It appears that since yesterday ICQ has blocked access to the ICQ network to alternative clients. Users of QIP, Adium, and other clients are getting a 'The client version you are using is too old. Please upgrade'. No comment yet from ICQ or AOL."
Yes, ICQ is still big in China (Oicq) and Russia. Consider that the IM to first and fully support a character set will probably get the widest use, not to mention Oicq was fully integrated into cell phones long ago.
Actually, they're forcing windows users to upgrade.. It has nothing to do with blocking alternative clients.
In other news, GnomeICU still works and pidgin has just made a new release with sends a newer version number.
And working just fine at this very moment.
I got the "your client is too old" message today, did a manual "check for updates" and found that a new version of Adium (1.2.6) was released and after upgrading ICQ works again.
My other account has a 3-digit UID.
QQ dominates the IM market in China.
OICQ was a rip-off of ICQ but was never compatible or even the same network as ICQ.
This is also a nonstory. The fix is just incrementing the version number on what is reported to OSCAR.
Is that Turk-Telecom that got banned?
Because, I gotta say, wow, that netblock generates a LOT of spam. Seriously. Like 25% of my spam comes from there.
Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
In Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union, ICQ is basically the only instant messenging protocol. (A few tech-savvy Russians have started switching to Jabber, but even they still maintain ICQ accounts to talk to their less technically inclined friends.) Not having an ICQ number in Russia is sort of like not having an email address in the US; people will look at you funny.