RateItAll: The Opinion Network

This one is sub par to other messengers, but widely available and easy to get.

I'm pretty much on MSN as a constant if I'm online, so I can't really complain about it that much, but there are frequent glitches and annoying problems it has which bug me quite a lot. Fortunately, this is only present in the newer and more demanding MSN Messengers, and if that goes wrong I can always revert to the old basic MSN Messenger.
It has been an internet staple for me since I got broadband.

i like it but me i like yahoo messenger the best becuz certain ones have you know different ones.

I think that MSN is a good program overall even though it does have flaws, as such sometimes it will randomly sign you out, this is ok as i just sign back in but if it does it repeatedly it becomes slightly annoying i think they should also add some new emoticons to come standard with msn, i like the new offline messaging system which works great as i can talk to anyone i like but ppl cant start a conversation with me. Also the new file sharing thing is good but slightly worrying that other people could have access to your files. MSN has good technical support and is always doing customer improvement programs to help imrpove MSN even further.

Compared to Yahoo or Aim i believe it is alot better, but less people seem to use it, well i suppose its what your friends all use. MSN is alot easier to navigate and use than AIM or Yahoo and the emoticons are alot mroe tasteful.

Overall MSN is a good program, it has a few flaws but what program doesn't and anyways its free so why anyone need complain, not like they lost anything when it has an error.

Works pretty good. Only problem is most people don't have it.

msn is ok, but I dont like paying extra for more memory that I could get for free in other instant messengers

This is still my favourite instant messenger despite its faults. The only problem I have with MSN is signing in, but apart from that there are some great features and it hasn't messed up my computer as yet. You can pretend to be offline or even use a variety of away icons if your talking to someone, unlike AIM where it shows your no longer away. It's security system of letting you know whose added you onto their messenger list is so good as it won't allow some online stalker to see if your online without your persmission. The neat features of letting you know when your friends are online or when you have messages has been copied by various other messenger systems. The facial expressions, links, blogs, weather reports are not so in your face as AIM, as their features to use if you want them. Not bad so far.

It's not the best but it's great !!!

MSN Messenger is a very addictive program with some bugs and problems. I use it a lot to talk to my friends and it has some excellent features, but sometimes I have some problems signing in and you have to pay for some extra features now. I reccommend this program.

The I.M. world is growing, but with I.M. users unable to easily communicate with other networks it is a real problem. AIM is is popular with kids & teens, and is flashy, but really is just a stripped down ICQ with lost of pretty colors and cartoons but without ICQs power. Yahoo is very solid and works well but is also dumbed down a bit for their biggest market (kids). As more adults begin to find IMs useful the technology will evolve and become more useful.... but for now we suffer.

I didn't rate MSN terrible because some of the features do work. Unfortunately for me the program is fairly useless because msn messenger does not allow any detailed member searching. For example it is not possible to search members interests or anything written in their profiles by keywords. Without a working keyword search within the msn messenger profiles the program becomes almost useless for finding new online friends. Browsing through profiles in alphabetical order in an over generized catagory is certainly a waist of time and this seems to be the only type of user search they allow. I see what other reviewers mean when they get annoyed by not being able to stop the program from automatically starting itself when looging onto windows. For example instead of having the option to turn this feature off in an easy to find place it is burried under options/general instead of on the front user interface or even under options/connection. At first I was using msconfig to disable the auto start feature. I was running msconfig each time to disable MSN messenger from restarting on login untill I found where to uncheck this annoying feature. In conclusion I don't recommend the program to anyone unless you already know or will be provided with the exact user name of the people you want on your buddy list because the online friend search features in the program are very poorly done. MSN must have left out keyword searching on purpose since they have the programing skills to put it into the interface so clearly they did not care if people would like the program or not.

Don't like this. It comes on my pc and I can't get it to shut off. I try everything under the sun why is this a required program to be on my pc? I remember when messengers were optional. Now I feel like it's spyware that just won't go away.

I don't use this messenger anymore because I don't like signing in and every time I put myself and invisible, it automatically makes me visible and then I'm swamped with messages!!! Why can't I check my emails in peace? I prefer yahoo or AIM over MSN..

The program is basically for adding people you already know, since chat rooms are pay only now. .NET also can open your pc up to security vulnerabilities, I can't recommend a program that has the ability to let outsiders have access to your system. Best to disable it and use something else.

MSN Messgenger is crap but for some reason my friends use it. I mean it works, but it is very basic. You can't set an away message except by changing your nick name. The only reason why this one is so popular is 'cause it's included with every version of WINXP! Boooo!

MSN messenger isn't bad, but I don't find the interface to unattractive and overly confusing. It works fine, it has a lot of useful information, but it seems rather cluttered to me, especially when all I want to do is chat. Using Paint with a friend is a blast though!

MSN messenger, in my opinion, has the cleanest and most attractive interface. And Yahoo's emoticons are a laugh in comparison to MSN's, and AIM's are gross. I find MSN to be the easiest to use when comparing it to Yahoo and AIM, but unfortunately less people use it. I suppose it's really a matter of what your friends use... And for the people who say it starts up automatically and find that annoying, you can change that by Tools/Options on the toolbar under the category 'General'. It's not rocket science...

every time I've used it I've found it pointless, you can't really find anyone unless you already know them.. if I knew their email address I wouldn't be on MSN, I'd be emailing them to get on AIM.

good with messaging.... newer verison imporves with voice and video, has more interacitivity, has more controls.

MSN Messenger is a royal pain in the butt. Its cool when ya wanna use it but it assumes you ALWAYS wanna use it and automatically starts up. Have you ever tried to remove it from start up?? Ya have to trick it Ctrl+Alt+Del, end task, and quickly go the install folder ad rename it before it starts up again. HORRIBLE! But all that aside its a pretty cool program :) It , like AOL, wont allow you to communicate with another companies' IM programs but it does have cool side features like webcams, and file share but these functions are becoming standard.

Nice software, but I've been having all kinds of trouble with log-in. The log-in will frequently tell me that my password is wrong (which it isn't), and when I change the password, it will still tell me that I'm wrong. Could be a quirk with the MSN messenger for Mac, or just a temporary glitch - regardless it's sort of a pain.

I'ev alqays thought that MSN messenger provided more options than AIM. MSN Messenger is also presented much better. There is more detail in everything from the backgrounds to the emmotions. Granted, more people most likely use AIm beause more people have AOL and MSN Messenger is not provided separately like AIM. However, Messenger is sure to be ganning ground on AIM in the near future.

I just don't think it's that great.

Easy to use. Great tool for keeping in touch with family and friends and the BEST thing is that it is FREE unlike the telephone.

MSN messanger is thee best!!

I have used MSN Messenger for 3 years now. I love it! It is way better then ICQ and Yahoo. But, yesterday I went to upgrade my Norton Virus scan and it found 8 virus worms on my computer and they all come from MSN. If you are going to use a messenger service, make sure you update your antivirus software all the time.

MSN Messenger is even better than ICQ, at least the old version. I haven't got the chance to install the new ICQ version yet, but I guess that one is as close to perfectness it's possible to get...