Yahoo Messenger [work]

The platform introduced several features that are now industry standards:

This visual shorthand accelerated the adoption of "textspeak." Abbreviations like BRB (Be Right Back), LOL (Laughing Out Loud), and ROFL (Rolling On the Floor Laughing) moved from niche hacker slang on IRC to mainstream vernacular thanks to the speed of Yahoo Messenger. The platform demanded brevity, and the language adapted accordingly. Yahoo Messenger

In a last-ditch effort to remain relevant, Yahoo launched a completely rebuilt version of the service in 2016. The platform introduced several features that are now

The yellow emoticons were baked into the client. Typing :) automatically transformed into a yellow smiling face. But Yahoo offered a secret menu of hidden smileys that became a rite of passage for users. If you knew the code (~~~) you could send a broken heart. If you typed :-@ you could scream. The yellow emoticons were baked into the client