“It looks like you’re reading a blog post. Would you like help?” Microsoft’s famous (or infamous?) Clippy mascot has been in hiding for years. Now, Clippy could be about to return—but Microsoft is holding it hostage.
If you want Clippy back, head to Twitter and like this tweet. When the tweet gets to 20,000 likes, Microsoft promises to replace the paperclip emoji in Microsoft 365 with that classic Clippy emoji.
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
Unfortunately (or rather, fortunately), Clippy won’t pop up and help you write a letter after it returns. It’ll just sit in the emoji list waiting for you to insert a paperclip. But, after Microsoft gets to 20,000 likes on Twitter, at least you’ll be inserting the right paperclip.
Now, how about replacing the dog emoji with Rover? Clippy may be beloved (or hated), but Rover was an important part of Microsoft’s best operating system. We’re talking about Microsoft Bob and not Windows XP, of course.
(But Rover was a part of both if you happen to prefer Windows XP to Microsoft Bob for some reason.)