Frequently Asked Questions - AIM®

What is AIM®?
AOL Instant Messenger™ (AIM®) is AOL's Instant Messenger™ service.

Do I have to use AOL™ to use AIM®?
No. You just need to sign up for an AIM® account.

What's the difference between TOC and OSCAR?
AOL™ runs its AIM® network with two protocols: TOC and OSCAR. TOC is the open protocol that third-party clients are free to use. It supports the basics -- person-to-person and group chat. OSCAR is the protocol that AOL™ uses in its own AIM® client. OSCAR does everything TOC does, while also supporting the advanced features such as file transfer and buddy icons. AOL™ has separated their network so that they can get people to use their client, which has revenue-generating banners. A number of third-party clients, however, use libraries that have reverse-engineered the OSCAR protocol.

What features does Fire support?
Thanks to some hard work by the Fire developers and the inclusion of a new library, you can now choose whether to use OSCAR or TOC. TOC is the standard protocol that supports the following features:

  1. Person-to-Person chat
  2. Group chat
  3. Buddy status
  4. File transfer (in some cases)
  5. Buddy Info

If you would like to use the more advanced features, you can change the protocol you use to connect to AOL's servers. Click here for instructions on how to change which protocol you use.

epicware, Inc, epicware.com and Fire are in no way affiliated with or endorsed by America Online, Inc.,ICQ, Inc., Yahoo! Inc or Microsoft Corporation. The marks AOL and AIM are registered trademarks of America Online, Inc.; the marks Instant Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger are service marks of America Online, Inc.; the mark ICQ is a registered mark of ICQ, Inc. The mark Yahoo! is a registered mark of Yahoo! Inc. The mark MSN is a registered mark of Microsoft Corporation.