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 worksMonospaced buddy icons are pixel text images built from equal-width character blocks, giving typography a fixed-grid rhythm. In samples, mirrored or repeated words on dark fields and precise spacing make alignment the first thing to notice, even when the message is simple.
![=] with yellow dashed lines and 'stephen' text on black background; two of identical icons separated by white gradient bar](/image/9caa3f338a8df176a27416dc765a59b929da56c2be3d30b3427b45d39dc3c30c){kind=small}
![A pixelated image shows two identical text-based icons with 'ilovehim' and '=]' text, one featuring a red heart symbol above the text.](/image/a9d4b24b14fe8e3c05e9f36475cb073807b30f2a2381c1e4b66e6bf4039f3efd){kind=small}
