Microsoft Planning To Bring Clippy Back In Emoji Form

Microsoft has said it's considering bringing back Clippy as an emoji.

Posting on Twitter, the official Microsoft shared a picture of the anthropomorphic paperclip while offering to change the Microsoft 365 paperclip emoji with a Clippy emoji if the post gets more than 20,000 likes.

And, despite being a divisive character, it seems as though people do want to see Clippy back in the Microsoft Office suite as, up to now, the post has had more than 128,000 likes.

In fact some people aren't content with a Clippy emoji and would like to see him back in his original form.

One Twitter user said: "Bring the lil dude back in Windows 11 for real. Clippy should replace Cortana."

Another person wrote: "Clippy with updated AI on Windows 11 that has all the capabilities of Cortana plus more because CLIP DOMINANCE."

A third person begged: "Just outright bring him back please. Even if you just release the original model (if you have it archived) to the public. I need the clip friend to return."

But not everyone is a fan, with one person writing: "This might be a joke, but many of today's Windows users remember Clippy, and not fondly. This could delay acceptance of Windows 11." Ouch.

Microsoft

Someone else said: "Why did people like this? Now we are all f****d."

Clippy the Office Assistant - or Clippit, if you want to use his full name - was launched in 1997 and was on hand to offer helpful suggestions to Microsoft users.

Although, admittedly, he did actually get on a lot of people's nerves - and when Microsoft launched Office XP in 2001 Clippy was given a demotion and was turned off by default.

Speaking at the time Lisa Gurry, a Microsoft product manager said: "Office XP is so easy to use that Clippy is no longer necessary, or useful.

"With new features like smart tags and Task Panes, Office XP enables people to get more out of the product than ever before. These new simplicity and ease-of-use improvements really make Clippy obsolete."

Bit harsh, Lisa.

The future was even more bleak for poor ol' Clippy and by the time 2007 rolled around he was killed off for good.

Topics: Viral, Microsoft

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19