Gartner analyst Joyce Graff says instant messaging is not simply the right of free speech. Although there are technical issues, the greater issues are security, privacy, capacity and, ultimately, who pays for the service. We have a wealth of good thinking on the table. AOL's move is significant given its dominance in instant messaging and its lead in the marketplace. It has fought Microsoft , Prodigy , CMGI's iCast and Tribal Voice , and start-up Odigo after those services began communicating with AIM users without consent.
Instant messengers allow people to communicate in real time using text.
Most services are proprietary, meaning members of one private network cannot chat with members of another. Rivals say AOL should open AIM's network of 91 million Buddy List screen names and its ICQ roster of 62 million registered users to outside technologies. They say instant messaging will be as ubiquitous as the telephone in the future, and that all technologies should be able to communicate with one another. While AOL has stated its commitment to the standards process, rivals have criticized the online giant for not keeping up with its promises. The companies have asked federal regulators to examine AOL's grip on the market as part of its pending merger with Time Warner.