From the archivist
It started with a game that needed a few authentic AIM icons. Then I had 1,000. Then 10,000. At some point, I had a buddy icon problem.
Read how this happenedYou made it this far
You have scrolled past 1,024 buddy icons, so I have some suspicions. My blog is where the other shiny digressions end up.
Subscribe to Shedletsky.comA language of tiny pictures
A picture barely 50 pixels wide, sitting beside an AIM screen name, could announce a mood, a fandom, an inside joke, or who someone wanted to be that day.
Read the short historyRecovered from the early web
Buddy icons survive in old directories, fan sites, downloadable packs, and web archives. The archive preserves the original files, groups known copies, and records where each one was found.
How the archive worksApologetic refers to buddy icons where the message performs a direct apology or remorse, often stated in plain text rather than hidden symbolism. Visual evidence often includes candid text lines, softened punctuation, or small hearts and repeating remorse phrases around the core caption.
![Pixelated text reads "im cooler than you" above "Sorry :]" with a blue heart symbol below the smiley.](/image/9b89bd93c2acfeed058188e96c1550afc5374fbf1a5618c8e3e92a4235ba2d63){kind=small}
![Red pixelated heart symbol above white text reading 'I made a [mistake]' on black background.](/image/a6f59a41f1cce8610831028d5c8ee516d4db46debf5ba04bd3f2a218df0c8ee6){kind=small}
![A beach scene with a heart drawn in sand and text reading 'Sorry, dude. I like blondes. :]'.](/image/aa0422e8fb4ee41e55cc81f8259c72efb076e8dfcd2c671a7a6cb1686f7b9e42)
