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 worksSarcastic is a tone captured visually by statements that seem playful while the image undermines them, often through small visual contradictions. In these buddy icons, deadpan faces, broken hearts, and text like mock praise combine with tiny layout details to create an edged, side-eyed effect.
![Pixelated text 'my icon hates you :]' on pink background with purple stars, two identical static frames shown side-by-side.](/image/0ba563ff0c25e00d7e9414ede3a11f003a8fe28ca1152f6f50c7dd18ab20063a){kind=small}
