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 worksChristmas Tree icons use a festive conifer motif as the scene’s anchor, often paired with seasonal reds, greens, and holiday text. Trees are frequently set beside greetings, ornaments, lights, or snow accents, with short animation frames sometimes showing movement of flame-like or text-based effects.
![Red square icon with white dotted border displaying "MERRY CHRISTMAS =]" text and a small Christmas tree, alternating between two tree positions.](/image/97154d235a06d08773e8d21a083c19ae2f915c5234f7222121531450eea5935e){kind=small}
