If you remember using Microsoft Office from almost two decades ago, then you may remember Clippy. Or Clippit, as it was originally called. It has been long gone from the company’s software, but it looks like it may be making a return, of sorts.
The company announced on Twitter that if the specific tweet gets 20000 likes, the company will replace the paperclip emoji in Microsoft 365 with Clippy. The total like count at the time of writing sits at six times that, with over 128100.
If this gets 20k likes, we’ll replace the paperclip emoji in Microsoft 365 with Clippy. pic.twitter.com/6T8ziboguC
— Microsoft (@Microsoft) July 14, 2021
Clippy was arguably not well received while it was around. It was the default Office Assistant when that was still a thing, and as such took the most flak for the feature. But if you follow the replies to the tweet by Microsoft, you can see that most people want it back due to nostalgia. Of course, there are the few who are vehemently against reliving whatever past trauma that the poor paperclip inflicted on them.
Ultimately, even if Microsoft is serious about its tweet, Clippy is only returning as an emoji. It will rarely be used, and thus rarely be seen, rather than it being a constant presence as a virtual assistant like it did so many years ago. Unless, of course, the company pulls a fast one on the tweet, in either direction.
(Source: Microsoft / Twitter. Image: The Verge)
