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 worksStar Symbols in buddy icons are identifiable by visible star shapes or glyphs used as graphic accents, from small single points to multiple repeated marks. These symbols may sit beside text, change color, or repeat across the icon to add emphasis near names and captions.
![Red and purple pixelated background with white text reading 'relax. its. fine. :]' and a star symbol changing color.](/image/367ca70b69ca5f82fbb342497e6fdc82445e1aadbaf263242354b8c590b78e71){kind=small}
![Red and black pixelated text displays 'ALEX HAS SEXY HAIR =]' with a star symbol, alternating between red background with white text and black background with white text.](/image/36dfe56f5d471bc04ff20e2ac29b44cb84bee69cb58f29fd91d38550ad9c1003){kind=small}
![A split-screen image with red and black backgrounds displaying pixelated text 'H3CiiA =]' and a star symbol that alternates between black on red and red on black.](/image/390c682b70f255e9db7c8ecd1defa8398ae71c143cf496d51deadee9558e27f6){kind=small}
