Skype launched in 2003 and became the default way many people made free voice and video calls online through the 2000s and 2010s, long before a Discord call was an everyday phrase. Its incoming call ringtone became part of that shared experience, heard in bedrooms, offices and internet cafes around the world. As Skype faded and the service was retired in 2025, the sound survived in memes, edits and soundboards as a shorthand for an incoming online call and for early internet nostalgia in general.