I originally created this website years ago back when ICQ was really the only IM program out there (there were a few other nice ones like Pow Wow (which has subsequently gone out of business).  Keep in mind that this was a time where not as many people were online.  When it came to talking to people online, most people were limited to chatrooms or email.  ICQ marked, in my opinion, one of the quickly growing desires for people to be able to communicate online in real time without much hassle.  When ICQ was still new (and before AIM was even available) it was difficult to find other people to talk to and even HARDER to find out which of your friends already had it without asking all of them.  My desire was to create a central point, The Collective, where everyone in Washington Twp could go to find the ICQ numbers of their friends.  This site was very popular at the time as it provided a very comprehensive listing.  This site couldn't have become as large and as popular as did without the help of all those who submitted information on local ICQ users (Juan and Steph Foxhill stick out as being major contributers, thank you both).

Unfortunately, as a site like this grows, it becomes harder and harder to maintain.  People stop using one client or another... people change email addresses... people change their screen names and other info I had provided.  I was able to keep up with this when the list was small, but it's been way too much work in the past year or two.

This site will remain up and serve its service as well as it can.  I WILL update it anytime someone submits information (like an addition/modification/removal request), however that's all I can do.  Unless ICQ/AOL decides to provide in the future an API by which I can dynamically display people's information, keeping up with all the subtle changes would be impossible.

I just want to thank everyone again... as it may have been my work that brought this site into existence...but it was definitely YOUR work that kept it here.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to email me.

Brian Sneddon
changeling@yahoo.com
The Washington Township Collective ListMaster