Please read below for further information!
This information is vital for ALL ICQ users!
Think about it...you are forwarding a message to anywhere from 10 to 200 people on your ICQ list. If half of them also forward the rumor, you now have anywhere from 60 to 5000 messages being sent through the system. ICQ has over 10 MILLION users at the present time. By the time the message goes through the system a few times, there can easily be BILLIONS of these messages being sent. So instead of chatting with a friend, you are using the resources of Mirabilis to send rumors that are false. I just recieved one attached to a URL that said this exact same thing!
ICQ has a statement on their home page that says that they will post a message there for at least 30 days prior to any change in service or pricing. That message has been there ince I got ICQ six months ago. Also, there is a notice that they do NOT, I repeat do NOT, that means they will NOT, have plans to start charging for ICQ at this time.
There has been a lot of concern about AOL buying out Mirabilis. In the first place, they have indicated that there will be no change, I repeat, NO CHANGE in ICQ's free-beta status at this time. The ironic thing is that the reason Mirabilis sold out to AOL is because their servers were overloaded. One big reason for this is that people are forwarding rumors about how ICQ is being bought out by AOL!
If you like ICQ (and I think everyone does), please read the list below. I borrowed it from another page that is trying to squelch this spamming. That's right, folks, if you are forwarding these false messages, you are a SPAMMER!
There are multiple forwarded rumors being forwarded throughout the ICQ system. This has the effect of slowing down the entire system, mnaking it become unusable at times for the purpose for which it was intended - a method of chatting and sending mesages to friends and family, and a way to meet new people around the world. It has become increasingly difficult to keep a chat window open, and at times it is even difficult to log on to the system.
Just as the 10 Commandments the Lord has given us are for our own good and guarantee a better life, so these will save a lot of grief and sorrow.........
(p.s. Get a life.)
If you have a web site and you would like to assist with this campaign to stop all the rumor-forwarding, you can download this page here in ZIPPED format, along with the graphic you used to link here. Feel free to use it! Or you can link directly to this page, whatever you want to do. If we can stop these spammers, we can actually chat on ICQ again!
Oh, yes, if you don't have ICQ, but want it, click here. It's a great little program!