--- title: AIM-ing For A More Open Platform Than Discord | daily.dev description: A look at OpenOscarServer, an open-source project that lets anyone self-host their own AIM/ICQ-compatible instant messaging server. The AIM protocol was... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/aim-ing-for-a-more-open-platform-than-discord-ouvs387ap twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: AIM-ing For A More Open Platform Than Discord | daily.dev og:description: A look at OpenOscarServer, an open-source project that lets anyone self-host their own AIM/ICQ-compatible instant messaging server. The AIM protocol was... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/aim-ing-for-a-more-open-platform-than-discord-ouvs387ap og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/ouVs387Ap.png og:image:alt: AIM-ing For A More Open Platform Than Discord og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # AIM-ing For A More Open Platform Than Discord **[Hackaday](https://daily.dev/sources/hackaday)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A look at OpenOscarServer, an open-source project that lets anyone self-host their own AIM/ICQ-compatible instant messaging server. The AIM protocol was reverse-engineered during its heyday for clients like Pidgin, meaning it was never locked to AOL's servers. OpenOscarServer supports both AIM and ICQ protocols, supports group chats, images, and VOIP, and can run on modest hardware like a Raspberry Pi. The post frames this as an alternative to closed platforms like Discord, where communities are dependent on corporate infrastructure. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Request for sources: Discord alternatives](https://daily.dev/posts/request-for-sources-discord-alternatives-h5hxn3luz) · Lobsters · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Slack Who? This Self-Hosted Chat App Just Went Open Source](https://daily.dev/posts/slack-who-this-self-hosted-chat-app-just-went-open-source-1ph9xjapk) · It's Foss · 9 upvotes · 0 comments - [Discord Alternatives, Ranked](https://daily.dev/posts/discord-alternatives-ranked-hnkdjmyyj) · Hacker News · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Self-Host Weekly \(30 January 2026\)](https://daily.dev/posts/self-host-weekly-30-january-2026--fwnvjluae) · selfh.st · 81 upvotes · 6 comments --- Tags: [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source), [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting), [#discord](https://daily.dev/tags/discord), [#decentralization](https://daily.dev/tags/decentralization) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/aim-ing-for-a-more-open-platform-than-discord-ouvs387ap) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"AIM-ing For A More Open Platform Than Discord","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/aim-ing-for-a-more-open-platform-than-discord-ouvs387ap","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/aim-ing-for-a-more-open-platform-than-discord-ouvs387ap"},"datePublished":"2026-07-15T05:06:23.432Z","dateModified":"2026-07-17T12:47:06.272Z","description":"A look at OpenOscarServer, an open-source project that lets anyone self-host their own AIM/ICQ-compatible instant messaging server. 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