Slashdot Log In
AIM Bots: Useful or Spam?
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Wed Nov 16, 2005 11:24 AM
from the future-of-advertising dept.
from the future-of-advertising dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Imagine my surprise this morning when AOL AIM popped up a window and introduced me to two bots that it automatically added to my buddy list. " Two seperate issues- one is simply auto adding robots to your friends list, which is very uncool. The second is a corporation using bots in an official capacity. This is an interesting trend, although technically speaking, not that far from the eggdrop of old.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Meh. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Meh. (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, until they get added quicker than you can delete them (would 50 per second do?). Reminds me of some other well-known message-based protocol system.
Re:Meh. (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Meh. (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Meh. (Score:5, Insightful)
This is far more a problem of aol screwing around with people's buddy lists and adding a group and 2 buddys to everyone's list.
Parent
Re:The bots didn't add you, AOL added the bots for (Score:5, Informative)
Not on AIM you aren't.
Parent
Re:Meh. (Score:5, Informative)
Delete the group and close your IM client.
Now open it again and log back in. AOL messages you wondering why you deleted its bots, though they are not put back.
Now you're done. Damnit.
Parent
Re:Meh. (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
fighting with bots (Score:5, Funny)
Re:fighting with bots (Score:4, Interesting)
Perhaps a well-orchestrated campaign would send a message to those responsible for this bit of obnoxiousness.
Parent
Re:fighting with bots (Score:5, Funny)
Jeremy
Parent
Re:fighting with bots (Score:5, Funny)
[12:43] Shakrai: fuck you
[12:43] ShoppingBuddy: Welcome. Now you can search for products with AOLShopping. Type main to get started. To read our privacy policy, type privacy anytime.
[12:43] Shakrai: fuck you
[12:43] ShoppingBuddy: Hey -- clean up the language and get serious. I'm happy to help but can't deal with that mouth.
[12:43] Shakrai: go fuck yourself
[12:43] ShoppingBuddy: Hmm, that's not gonna get you anywhere with me.
[12:44] Shakrai: i fucked your mom
[12:44] ShoppingBuddy: OK, I'm searching for matches 4 U. Gimme a sec...
[12:44] ShoppingBuddy:
- Search results for fucked mom
- Get Fucked [$6.21 - $9.99]
- Grown Up Fucked Up [$8.99 - $13.98]
- Fucked Up Mess [$8.30 - $13.98]
- Fucked From Birth * [$12.99]
- Not Fucked Enough * [$9.72 - $13.98]
- The Essential Fucked Up Blues! [$10.02 - $13.98]
- For All The Fucked-Up Children Of [$13.29 - $14.90]
- For All The Fucked-Up Children Of [$33.99]
- New [$9.18 - $12.99]
Here are some related categories: 1. Hardcore & Punk Music, 2. Rock & Pop Music, 3. Miscellaneous Music, 4. Miscellaneous Books, 5. Miscellaneous Non-Fiction Books, etc. Type in the number to use the related category.
Parent
I'm all for this... (Score:5, Funny)
I noticed this too (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I noticed this too (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:I noticed this too (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Very uncool? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Very uncool? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Very uncool? (Score:5, Insightful)
That doesn't make their actions 'cool'.
Parent
I'm just surprised... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I'm just surprised... (Score:5, Informative)
In the US, that is. Here in Europe, IM seems to be almost exclusively MSN. Hardly anyone uses AIM this side of the Atlantic.
Parent
Re:I'm just surprised... (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:I'm just surprised... (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm just surprised that AOL has taken this long to begin sending you advertisements via AIM. They have a near-monopoly on IM communications...
AOL has 56% last time I looked. 56% a monopoly does not make.
As an aside, can we please move out of the dark ages of text chatting? Multiple, incompatible formats on different networks, without publicly available bridging is pathetic. Please everyone, switch to Jabber and set up a bridge until it gains most of the market. It's as if MSN users could not e-mail AOL users who could not e-mail Yahoo users. Remember when the internet used to be about standards and used for communication, instead of lock-ins and sending you ads?
Parent
Back in the day (Score:4, Insightful)
It seems that today is my day to be the token geezer.
The situation you describe was not all that long ago. Anyone who can drive legally was already breathing at the time.
Parent
The future of advertising! (Score:4, Interesting)
AOL had to think of something new -- some way of profiting off of their protocol. Sticking interactive ads, that people think of as their "buddies"! What could be better?
These bots sneak in to your list, pretend to be your friends, and if you send them a message, BAM! Custom ads delivered right to you.
Re:The future of advertising! (Score:5, Funny)
Jeez, just like my ex-wife. Maybe she was a bot?
Parent
Re:The future of advertising! (Score:3, Funny)
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Eliza (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Eliza (Score:3, Funny)
AOL Intruder (Score:4, Insightful)
I hate using AIM but I have friends who I chat with and they won't use anything else. I use Trillian so I can use ICQ and Yahoo! Messenger as well. I signed in this morning and I get this message from AOL that said "We've installed two new bots ShoppingBuddy and MovieFone. I thought "What the fuck is this shit?" It may have been because I installed AIM Triton preview to see if I could get the video chat to work. This is even more egregious than all the ads and tickers and additional software they want to install on your computer. Anyway I blocked them.
In the past, I've had to go in and edit some of the AOL files to get rid of all sorts of crap. AOL is about as welcome as an anal probe. They want to block other peoples intrusive software so they can foist their crap on you. AOL's idea of "consumer friendliness" is to come into your home uninvited, bend you over, put an anal probe up your keister, and tell you just how wonderful and lucky you are to have it. Your very own mini-Federal-pound-me-in-the-ass prison in the comfort and safety of your own home. Only 9.95 per month!
Re:AOL Intruder (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
So? (Score:4, Insightful)
I can predict many users here will bitch endlessly about it. The fact is that the service is free. If it means that I have to right click on each of the names of the bots and choose "Delete....", to use this service for free, so be it.
What's the big deal?
The Next Step: Adding Artificial Intelligence (Score:3, Interesting)
Now imagine if you programmed even a rudimentary adaptable AI into an AIM bot, and had it talk to other AIM bots with a similar AI. You'd have them talking to each other, learning from each other. Then imagine if they had web crawlers attached to them, learning about the Internet, communicating their findings back to each other.
The only way we'd know if the Internet became sentient is if it stepped up and said 'hi.'
Re:The Next Step: Adding Artificial Intelligence (Score:3, Informative)
http://jaimbot.sourceforge.net/ [sourceforge.net]
Re:The Next Step: Adding Artificial Intelligence (Score:4, Interesting)
Wrong. We'll know from Google's search results. Mark my words, one day the following search result will cease to be returned forever:
That's when we'll know. [google.com]
Parent
Bots in an official capacity? We do that @ IBM... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Bots in an official capacity? We do that @ IBM. (Score:4, Interesting)
Who Is - do BluePages name and phone info searches
Helpline - Helpdesk FAQs searches
What Is - Definitions of acronyms
StockQuote - IBM and all other stock quotes
Dictionary - English language dictionary
SkillTap - contact others that may be able to help you
W3Alert - send broadcasts out to selected groups
Parent
A page from the Sony playbook (Score:3, Interesting)
Apparently once you've installed someone's software or used someone's product on your computer, they have the right to tinker with your machine and settings at will.
I was more than a little distressed to find these things appearing on my Buddy List. Like any "feature", don't I get the right to refuse it? Of course the cute little system message tells me I can right-click and delete them, but that's not the point. If you're going to add capailities to something, fine, but give the opportunity to say yea or nay first.
While not as bad as Sony's rootkit fiasco, it does point out the growing hubris of we, the software users of the world, when we believe that we still have control of how our systems work and how they are configured. It's not just worms and viruses now, but wholesale invasion by any company that feels you're not using their product most effectively. Pretty soon I expect Adobe Reader to ask me "Should you be reading that?" or IE to say "Sorry, no Slashdot for you today!"
I see no problem. (Score:3, Insightful)
2) These are provided by AOL, not random companies.
3) This is a free service, and it's theirs. You have absolutely NO right to complain about their business practices. If it bothers you, don't use AIM or their servers.
This dose of "stop your whining, you spoiled unrealistic brats," has been brought to you by the grumpy old techy (tm).
Re:I see no problem. (Score:3, Insightful)
I disagree, people complain all the time, its part of human nature. If you don't like something and don't complain, how is AOL going to know? It is software, not a piece of art work. It is in AOL's best interest to listen to what people like and don't like in order to create a more perfect method of spamming you (kidding.)
Not on GAIM, yet (Score:3, Interesting)
What I wonder is what happens security-wise when some AIM virus (always new ones popping up) manages to infect these bots? When it's just a question of one person's buddy list being used by a virus to propagate, the infection is limited somewhat by the low number of contacts. What happens when the same contact appears in say 75% of people's lists? Granted, the bot is administrated by AOL directly and no doubt has better security in place than your average user or user's bot, but I wonder if perhaps such a wide-reaching target will prove irresistible for virus writers. Just musing, I'm sure some people more familiar with the inner workings of AIM can refute or corroborate this idea.
Re:Not on GAIM, yet (Score:5, Informative)
Maybe its being pushed in phases?
Parent
For all the ethical arguments (Score:4, Insightful)
Coming soon... (Score:5, Funny)
Microsoft has announced a new addition to it's popular MSN Chat service - ClippyBotTM. According to Chief Software Architect Bill Gates, ClippyBot will "be a welcome addition to your buddy list. ClippyBot will watch for common behaviors, and will provide you with gentle, helpful assistance in completing those tasks." When asked about those users who might not want ClippyBot to be added to their buddy list, Gates replied "We are always responsive to the needs of our users. Removing ClippyBot from your buddy list is as easy as editing 13 registry keys!"
"My buddy list" (Score:5, Insightful)
Not completely useless. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Ever heard of GAIM? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Ever heard of GAIM? (Score:5, Informative)
Add me to the "immediately-deleted-and-moderately-annoyed" list.
Parent
Re:Ever heard of GAIM? (Score:3, Insightful)
Big deal -- I just deleted them. As long as AOL doesn't turn the service over to spimmers, a few like this from AOL is tolerable.
Trillina (Score:4, Funny)
The names some parents come up with! After that, no wonder the lady took up with someone who uses her.
Parent