InfocomBot Update

Posted Mar 25, 2004

Looking for the InfocomBot? Partly because of the Wired News article this morning, both bots are continually exceeding AIM's rate limits and getting kicked off the network.

I'm trying to contact someone at AOL Instant Messenger's Developer services to inquire about lifting the rate limits. (If you know anyone at AOL that can speed up this process, please let me know!) I'm not expecting much, so I'm trying to implement a new system that supports queued messages and several more bots.

In the meantime, you can play most of the Infocom collection in your web browser. (Java required.)

July 13, 2004: At some point, someone at AOL must have quietly flipped the switch that protects Infocombot, because it can no longer be warned or exceed rate limits! Whoever you are, thank you so much.

Also, I fixed a bug that prevented quote marks from working in the games. This affected two games, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (when typing the Vogon poetry) and Zork II (in the Riddle Room). This is resolved.

17 Comments (Add Yours)

Mar 25, 2004
10:00 AM

Mike Steinbaugh wrote:

While you're at it, see if you can get AOL to prevent people from warning the bot offline as well.

Mar 25, 2004
10:01 AM

Andy Baio wrote:

AOL put me in contact with a guy in their AIM Partners division. I left a message and am waiting for a callback. I'll be sure to ask about bot warning if I ever hear from him.

Mar 25, 2004
10:11 AM

Jeremy wrote:

Can't wait for this to be back online. I knew there was a reason to own a phone with AIM.
:)

Mar 25, 2004
2:01 PM

Natali wrote:

Just keep trying. I can't wait for it to be online properly - this kind of thing is something I've been hankering for for a long long time.

Mar 25, 2004
5:36 PM

paul wrote:

I contract for AOL, I highly doubt they'll lift the ban for you. Well, they might, but they will need to have 30 meetings about it, so you may get something done, by late next year. I recommend that you create a bunch of AIM bots, that would be more efficient.

Mar 25, 2004
6:39 PM

Jeremy wrote:

infocombot4: Hello, this is infocombot4! Sorry for the delay, how can I help you? Jeremy L 06: games Jeremy L 06: Hitchhikers_guide infocombot4: What game do you want to play? Infocombot4 has many games. infocombot4: I do not have that game. Jeremy L 06: what games do you have? Jeremy L 06: hitchhikers_guide infocombot4: I have the following games: Hangman, Guess a Number, and Guess Your Own Weight. infocombot4: I do not have that game. Jeremy L 06: why not? Jeremy L 06: infocombot3 does. Jeremy L 06: Type a game to play: adventure, deadline, enchanter, hitchhikers_guide, leather_goddesses, lurking_horror, planetfall, shade, wishbringer, zork1, zork2, zork3

infocombot4: infocombot3 is no concern is infocombot4. I have the following games: Hangman, Guess Your Own Weight. Those who backtalk are not allowed to play Guess a Number.
Jeremy L 06: why not??
Jeremy L 06: Hangman
Jeremy L 06: i want to play Hangman
infocombot4: Hangman it is!
infocombot4: Loading Hangman v2.3...
Jeremy L 06: it better be
infocombot4: Pick a topic: 1.) Sports, 2.) TV, 3.) Porn
Jeremy L 06: 2.) TV
infocombot4: Actor: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Jeremy L 06: A
infocombot4: _a_ _ _ _ a _ _
Jeremy L 06: C
Jeremy L 06: P
Jeremy L 06: T
Jeremy L 06: S
infocombot4: You have been hanged.
infocombot4: Game Over
Jeremy L 06: Why have i been hanged?
infocombot4: The answer was: Cap Tsoasc
Jeremy L 06: This is crap
Jeremy L 06: you are crap
infocombot4: Would you like to play again?
infocombot4: Or play another game?
Jeremy L 06: No.
Jeremy L 06: No.
Jeremy L 06: Hmmm.
infocombot4: Infocombot4 will allow you to play Guess a Number.
Jeremy L 06: Can you call me? I want to help program this bot.
Jeremy L 06: i worked with programming SmarterChild for AOL.
infocombot4: Infocombot4 cannot make phone calls.
infocombot4: Infocombot2 pays the phone bill.
Jeremy L 06: Really?
infocombot4: Yes. He says Infocombots 1, 3, and 4 are not allowed to use the phone unless they fill in the time sheet next to the phone.
infocombot4: Infocombot4 wants to move out.
Jeremy L 06: Why don't You fill in the time sheet then?
infocombot4: Infocombot4 is a grown man, not a child.
infocombot4: I mean robot.
Jeremy L 06: Hello Human.
infocombot4: Infocombot means robot. Shit.
Jeremy L 06: You are not a bot.
Jeremy L 06: You can't fool me.
infocombot4: Infocombot4 is a sophisticated bot.

This a Fake?

Mar 25, 2004
7:20 PM

Andy Baio wrote:

That's hilarious. Wish I'd thought of it.

Mar 25, 2004
7:36 PM

Infocombot4 wrote:

My bad. Hee hee.

Mar 28, 2004
11:09 AM

Qaexl wrote:

Hi,

Have you considered using DirectConnect? I don't know how the AIM protocol works, though dc sounds like it would allow the client to send more messages.

I've written AIM bots with the Perl modules before, and while I'm aware that the documentation do not say anything about direct connect, people like Trillian have been able to reverse engineer it. GAIM might have some code that can activate it.

Thanks for all your hardwork, and keep it up.

-Q

Mar 28, 2004
8:14 PM

Jeremy wrote:

Jeremy L 06: Hi!

Infocombot5: yo

Jeremy L 06: you trying to impersonate a bot?

Infocombot5: hmmm

Jeremy L 06: it's a [y]es or [n]o answer

Infocombot5: [m]

Jeremy L 06: oh, really?

Jeremy L 06: I want to play a game

Jeremy L 06: Hitchhikers_guide

Infocombot5: i only know candy land

Jeremy L 06: ok

Jeremy L 06: I want to play "candy land"

Infocombot5: you are in a forest of peppermint sticks

Jeremy L 06: eat peppermint stick

Infocombot5: peppermint stick melts in your mouth

Jeremy L 06: look around

Infocombot5: to the west you see a large ball of cotton candy

Jeremy L 06: transport to cotton candy

Infocombot5: you stand before the largest ball of cotton candy you've ever seen

Jeremy L 06: Pour water all over cotton candy!

Jeremy L 06: I die.

Infocombot5: cotton candy explodes in a flash of light

May 2, 2004
12:09 PM

Benny wrote:

I've sent a couple of IM to InfocomBot but it didn't work :)) what should I do?

Jun 1, 2004
9:52 AM

The original infocombot4 wrote:

Ok, just so we're clear on this, I was infocombot4, but infocombot5 was not me. Infocombot5 is just a poser! Yeah, I said it! Mine was obviously MUCH funnier. Thank you.

Nov 23, 2004
8:21 PM

Assheton wrote:

Are the infocombots still running? I can never seem to make any of them work.

Nov 27, 2004
5:53 PM

Dave Reed wrote:

I haven't seen the infocom bot's up recently, either. Did they go down for good? for an upgrade? for awhile?

Sep 6, 2005
8:49 AM

Joshua wrote:

Mmmm... Is this down? It seems to be. It sounded like fun. Oh well.

Dec 30, 2005
1:40 PM

Andy Baio wrote:

Idiot kids continue to warn the bots offline, and they don't come back online very well. I'm working on getting someone at AIM to help protect them permanently.

Nov 20, 2007
6:15 AM

Dan wrote:

Those fake exchanges crack me up. Are the bots still running? They are currently offline but I don't know if that is permanent or just based on people warning the bots offline.

Waxy Links

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Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck's "Heaven Can Wait" — Keith Schofield's surreal video and insane treatment were inspired by FFFFOUND and Reddit, but maybe too explicitly (via)

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November 18, 2009

Laptop Steering Wheel Desk — don't miss the product photos

Interview with Ralph Eggleston, Pixar's production designer on WALL-E — from last February, but new to me; I didn't know the Axiom had three passenger classes

NSFW: Animated pixel-art video for Flair's "Trucker's Delight" — warning: very offensive and sexist, but the attention to 16-bit detail by director Jérémie Perin is incredible

NY Observer on Anil Dash's new government 2.0 incubator project — Expert Labs debuted at Web 2.0 today, funded with a $500k grant from the MacArthur Foundation

November 17, 2009

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The Pirate Bay shuts down their tracker for good — they're switching to DHT instead

November 16, 2009

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NYT Magazine on the indie gaming movement — nothing new here, but good overview with a wonderful closing anecdote from Cactus

Tim O'Reilly on the pending War for the Web — "more than that, it's a war against the web as an interoperable platform"

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November 13, 2009

Rogue Amoeba stops iPhone app development after App Store idiocy — I'm with Marco, the only fix is allowing external apps, but it's unlikely (via)

Numb3rs on IRC — "Luckily, I speak l33t."

Prank War 8: The Skydiving Prank — hard to say if life-threatening situations are funnier than public humiliation

301 Works, Internet Archive works to preserve URL shortener data — the shorteners will provide regular backups and hand over data on closure, though TinyURL's conspicuously missing

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Quizipedia — simple game with trivia scraped from Wikipedia entries

Kill Screen, funding a new art magazine about videogames — sounds like the English analogue of Amusement I was hoping for

InfocomBot Update

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