ClassicConnect

[HIDEN]

CrossTalk is a messaging service compatible with multiple IM protocols, and allows them to interoperate as if they Just Worked™ like that originally. Both retro protocols (such as MSNP, OSCAR, IRC, and more), and modern protocols (XMPP/Jabber, maybe Skype, and perhaps Matrix too?) will be supported. Currently, MSNP2 - 21 + YMSG9 - 15 are supported, and OSCAR, IRC, and MSIM have semi-functional proof of concepts (all 3 are currently in active development so expect that to change soon!).

This is oriented as more of a generic, multi-protocol chat server, however it also acts as a full revival service for the old-school IM clients that use those protocols. And for you FOSS junkies out there, the source code will be opened up later this year .

Both me and toxidation are working on it. It's in Alpha currently, so there are going to be bugs and functionality is not finished... but we're getting there! Registrations are currently not open to the public, however if you're in The Corner, just ask and I'll PM you a registration key on Discord.

MessengerGeek has it's... issues, to say the least, so from now on I will be posting development updates about CrossTalk exclusively to this board & the Discord server instead (and the website whenever we have a page for that up).

Here it is in action!




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Known to cause cancer in the state of California.

[VCSMaster]

Looks pretty cool! I would love to have some kind of chat client to play with back in Windows XP and Mac OS 9 land, but it's difficult to choose a platform. It'll be nice to have a swiss army knife.

I would love to see some kind of Discord integration some day, even if it is just a relay or something dumb. Discord is essentially the only chat client I actively use these days.

If my iMac had a way to receive modern email and access Discord, I would probably ditch my modern computers altogether!

[HIDEN]

Finally an update post.

Registrations are currently open as of writing, you have until August 12, 2025 to register.

We're currently working on redesigning the service's architecture to be microservices-based, primarily so that we don't have to bring down the entire service just to update a single component. It also would make shared functionality between CrossTalk and other things we're working on much easier to accomplish.

On top of this, we're also rewriting our OSCAR implementation to not suck, creating a web dashboard for managing the server instead of crappy scripts, getting MSIM ready for public use, fixing bugs + implementing missing features in the clients we already support, and researching proper patching methods for WLM 2011/2012. And let's also not forget about the blue spherical shaped elephant in the room.

There's much more than that in our plans too, but that's all I'm currently at liberty to talk about.

The service (all of it's microservices/components) will still be made fully open source; we plan on doing this in 2026 (no later). Some components will likely have their source code released even before then.

Help wanted!

Obviously since we're just a team of two people, working on this as a hobby part-time, and having other projects/life things to worry about, doing all this is quite difficult and time consuming. I'm calling on anyone who would like to help make CrossTalk as great as it can possibly be. If you'd like to help us in any way (we especially want more documentation/technical info about the protocols & clients), don't hesitate to shoot me a DM (preferably on Discord/Signal/CrossTalk itself), or mention one of us in the Discord server.
We don't need financial support currently (nor will we ever beg for it), however there is the possibility of that changing as we expand. We're fine for now though.
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Known to cause cancer in the state of California.

[HIDEN]

[HIDEN]

Hey all, an update post because so much has happened since July that it's honestly insane.

Registrations are open until November 8. Alongside that, we've seen quite the explosion in users primarily as a result of NINA's cease & desist + the shady behavior of NINA/Escargot's leadership coming to light.

We have a new team member as well! He's a former staff member and developer for NINA/Escargot and is quite experienced in the field of reverse engineering, and is from the land of fried chicken. Talking about epicness of course

He was the primary developer of Escargot's Skype server, but because of everything, is now a member of CrossTalk's team. His Skype work will continue under the banner of CrossTalk, however without all the pressure he was under under Escargot.

Not the only thing he's spearheading, as we also started a new initiative called the "UXtravanganza"; making CrossTalk the revival service with the best UX in town. Making CrossTalk the easiest revival service to get into, and to solve issues with. The idea is that you never have to contact support for anything, except if you counter a really weird edge case.

Another project in development is INSv2. INS (InterService) is our communications protocol between services, primarily used between the site-service and managing the service, but will also be utilized for cross-microservice communication when the service's architectural redesign is underway.

The current iteration of INS is text-based, not too unlike IRC, however this has brought up some issues (e.g. a security vulnerability involving adding newlines to inject commands via, for example, the registration page, which has been patched within about an hour of being found). We've decided the best course of action was redesigning INS to be a big-endian binary protocol.

I myself am also focusing on AIM support, as well as fixing all the existing bugs with MSN and Yahoo! Messenger. I've wanted to be careful about AIM and Yahoo in particular. We've been in contact with their IP lawyers to make sure we aren't overstepping any boundaries.

Best of all, it's all free, forever. No strings attached. No ads, no selling your data, no begging for donations, and no "the service is free oops now you gotta pay for it sowwy " like a certain service. CrossTalk is 100% free (and soon open source), and always will be.
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Known to cause cancer in the state of California.