“As you already know, AOL recently started blocking third-party
instant messaging products from using its network. The timing of
this move happened to coincide with a major competitor of AOL’s
debuting an AIM-compatible product, based on the Jabber Open Source
project. Many fans of Jabber and other Open-Source AIM clones were
dismayed, and although AOL is within its rights in blocking access
to its service, the company is making a big mistake.”
“Many of the developers of Open-Source AIM alternatives have
repeatedly asked AOL to engage with them in a constructive dialog
about how their needs can be addressed while at the same time
allowing access to the AIM network from third-party clients. After
all, hackers are AOL customers, too.”
“What follows is a brief overview of the clever technique AOL is
using for its access restrictions, and then a proposal for
defeating this scheme in a completely legal way. This method (which
is completely generic and not tied to AOL in particular) may
provide a blueprint for overcoming this type of blocking
restriction by other companies in the future. Think of it as a kind
of non-violent resistance.”