AOL suck... reasons why...

[Namuna]

You guys are way too hard on AOL.

I mean look at one of their.......


That was my impression of an AOHELL user saying something and getting disconnected in mid-sentence

 

[somethingwitty]

<< ROFLMAOPIMP!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA that's the SAME exact thing my sister says when I try to get the family to switch off of AOL. I ALWAYS thought she was the only one!! >>



my younger sis has the same reason. I've even pointed out that she could switch to AIM and uncheck the box that leads to the &quot;accept message?&quot; dialog. doesnt work.

 

[Wedesdo]

thank goodess i'm the only child in my family.

well, we have free broadband anyways!

 

[MajesticMoose]

You know, it is possible to get something worse than AO (that reasoning makes sense to me), You could have a mac, or worse yet an imac. What gets really bad is when you combine the two.

Moose

 

[erikiksaz]

i don't understand the people that actually suscribe to aol. you log on, a few ads get flashed across your screen, then a few more, oh darn, a few more x's to click, and you're ready to surf. what the hell is up with that? might as well just use netzero and save yourself 20 dollars.

 

[Teatowel]

The reason why newbie losers, like my mum , subscribe to AOL is because they advertise so heavily, and shove the stuff through your door. If you get a new computer, never having used email and the web before, you're bound to use the first thing you come accross, especially when they are so well known as AOL. You only find out they suck later.

 

[VudooCrush]

In AOL's defense...

Do I sense some jealousy here?...Are you guys mad cause you don't have the easy to use AOL?..I think your just sad because you don't hear &quot;You've got mail&quot;...instead, you've got your little Outlook, or Outlook Express client that just dings when you got mail...woohoo...I've got all you got and more kids...I've got a 550 email limit, and each email can contain a 15MB attachment..And that's just for my new mail...Great for porn and all the friggin warez I can get on AOL...You will never find a better place than AOL to get warez...No, don't give me that IRC crap..You know why? Because I don't have to download everything immediately...Nope, all I gotta do is have someone on AOL forward me it, and I can hold it for 26 days, unless I open it and re-click on Keep as New, then I can keep it longer...Man, you guys really got me aching for pop3 now..you and your 5-10mb limit...Oh, but AOL's so slow...not really...not if your paying the $9 plan and you've got DSL...Now listen to me...I can do everything you can do, and more on AOL...yes, even Newsgroups as one luser insisted that I can't...Oh but, I get email spams all the time...It happens with any large ISP...Go join MSN, or EarthLink, or any regular LARGE ppp-dialup ISP...Oh but, I get pop-up ads all the time...Nopers..Any idiot can click on the Marketing button in your preferences and turn that off..Oh but, I get Instant Messages all the time asking me to join a porn site...Why are you complaining?..Yes, if you are gay, you can turn this off as well. AOL allows selective IM's from only people you want to IM you if you like..Sounds like I've solved all of your problems in about 5-10 mouse clicks...Yes, AOL probably shouldn't be called an ISP...They are more like a 'media portal'...And yes lusers, I know what a real ISP is like...I've worked for 2 of them as tech. support. Yes, AOL was created for ease of use, and probably not for people like you and I...Although I see no problem w/ them being your ISP unless your a dial-up user who wants to play games...It's just not going to happen. In fact, I'd probably rather use NetZero...AOL can't be that bad, if so many people use them...There can't be that many idiots in this world...So please..just keep an open mind when you talk $**T about AOL...Cause in a lot of ways, they've actually got it better than you...

~http://www.VudooCrush.net~
[ Coming Soon! Linux Newbie Distro. Guide! ]

-Thunderbird 1ghz
-Mushkin PC150 256MB
-ABIT KT7-RAID
-WindozeME, Windoze Whistler Beta1, Slackware Linux &amp; Redhat Linux

 

[Zorba]

VudooCrush: That was a joke right?

I was helping someone setup a computer once, when they asked me to setup AOHell. I stopped what I was doing and walked out .


Hey do you old AOLer's remember messages like this:

&quot;Hi! I'm with the AOL User Resource Department, and due to a system crash, we have lost your information. For our records, would you please click &quot;respond&quot;, then state your Password, Credit Card number, Bank Name and Expiration Date.

Failure to comply will result in account invalidation, and force you to go through the new member sign on procedure again. Thank you and have a nice day!&quot;

 

[dc]

vudoocrush... i seriously hope you're joking...

<<AOL can't be that bad, if so many people use them...There can't be that many idiots in this world...>>

you obvious haven't been outside in a while. yes there are that many idiots in the world.

and to think that we're jealous of aol? LOL... funny guy.

 

[stonerdave]

I've never really disliked AOL in the past, but a merger with a monopolistic media titan is enought to convince me now.

 

[VudooCrush]

Not a joke at all...

Do I really need to go into further detail about AOL? No, I was not joking at all...What do you guys want me to prove? How about this...I would like any of you to give me some better reasons to choose a local or regular ISP over AOL. *BUT*, here's the catch...I know you can't prove this, but I would really like this to come from someone who's actually used AOL for a decent amount of time. Around a month or so. Cause this would be no challenge otherwise, and I would just end up embarassing you. =) Yes, Zorba - I do remember people trying to phish accounts...And for dc, why shouldn't you be jealous..Your probably paying the same amount for less goodies.. =) I would be if I were you..

~http://www.VudooCrush.net~
[ Coming Soon! Linux Newbie Distro. Guide! ]

-Thunderbird 1ghz
-Mushkin PC150 256MB
-ABIT KT7-RAID
-WindozeME, Windoze Whistler Beta1, Slackware Linux &amp; Redhat Linux

 

[Teatowel]

VudooCrush

If you read the my original message at the very top of this thread, you will see why I don't like AOL, because I can't post to Anandtech from them.

I have used AOL on a daily basis for seven months, and find that while it may be very easy to use for beginners, and the tech support (in the UK anyway) is aimed at newbie users, the whole front end of AOL is so clunky, slow and prone to more crashes than any other ISP I have used. I have used, on friends systems the following over the past few months:

demon.co.uk - 2 months
tesco.net - 1 month
virgin.net - 4 months

All are better, all have free technical support, and all will allow me to use my Amiga on them as well, something which AOL steadfastly refuse to do, even though the amount of information they have to supply to me is minimal.

I have had a very similar message to the one Zorba posted above as well from AOL.

Lastly, I can't usually be bothered to read a reply that is in such a long paragraph and with the grammer so poor. In your case, I'll make an exception

 

[VudooCrush]

Oh boy...



<< I have used AOL on a daily basis for seven months, and find that while it may be very easy to use for beginners, and the tech support (in the UK anyway) is aimed at newbie users, the whole front end of AOL is so clunky, slow and prone to more crashes than any other ISP I have used. I have used, on friends systems the following over the past few months: >>



Slow? What are you running on?...AOL gives a little guideline on what type of system to use before downloading each version. I've never had any trouble with it being slow. Yes, I have had it crash a few times, but not nearly as many times as Outlook Express or just IE have. And yes, it is a great service for newbies because it is extremely hard to get a newbie going with DUN, and Outlook Express. At my previous job, the majority of my phone calls, were related to dial-up networking and email. It is the biggest pain in the arse to get a newbie going with all of that. But I still see no reason to switch to a regular ISP after you know the ropes. Everything is being dumbed down. Because it makes life faster, and simpler. And once again, if AOL can make my daily tasks of checking my email, browsing the web, or anything else faster to do, I will do it.



<< All are better, all have free technical support, and all will allow me to use my Amiga on them as well, something which AOL steadfastly refuse to do, even though the amount of information they have to supply to me is minimal. >>



I don't remember AOL charging for tech. support..Maybe cause I don't need to cause it's so easy, no downtime, and never have any problems. Unlike the majority of ISP's. AOL had some sort of a Dial-up Networking AOL test a while back ago. I don't recall if they ever got it going, but I believe it was going to allow you to use dial-up networking to connect. If so, you could probably get your Amiga goin now..



<< Lastly, I can't usually be bothered to read a reply that is in such a long paragraph and with the grammer so poor. In your case, I'll make an exception >>



You know..that's not cool. I'm not making any personal hits here...Just want to show you all that AOL can be a good provider in a lot of ways.

P.S. - I've also been an AOL beta tester for about 3 years now...

~http://www.VudooCrush.net~
[ Coming Soon! Linux Newbie Distro. Guide! ]

-Thunderbird 1ghz
-Mushkin PC150 256MB
-ABIT KT7-RAID
-WindozeME, Windoze Whistler Beta1, Slackware Linux &amp; Redhat Linux

 

[Teatowel]

The reason why I have stuck with AOL for so long is because, yes, it is easy to use. However, my ORIGINAL POST at the top of this thread suggests a very good reason not to continue with them. You haven't commented on that, presumably as the Anandtech mod said, they, in this case, are being irresponsible.

By the way, that wasn't a personal hit in my previous post..apologies if you took it that way

 

[DaBoneHead]

VudooCrush...


Hi lozer! Or is it DeathAngel now? Noone really listens to &quot;junior members&quot;... You are just here to rub some people rhubarab the wrong way...

Bye!

 

[VudooCrush]

Dear my friend DaBoneHead,



<< Hi lozer! Or is it DeathAngel now? Noone really listens to &quot;junior members&quot;... You are just here to rub some people rhubarab the wrong way... >>



What's this DeathAngel crap about?...Apparently you did listen to what I had to say. I could careless what kind of a member I am..It makes no difference. In fact, I don't even have a clue how to become a Senior member, nor would I want to be one if I have to start acting like you. I'm not here to [ insert clever way to say piss off ] anyone here, I just wanted some people to get a new understanding for AOL. By the way, &quot;Noone&quot; is not a word.

~http://www.VudooCrush.net~
[ Coming Soon! Linux Newbie Distro. Guide! ]

-Thunderbird 1ghz
-Mushkin PC150 256MB
-ABIT KT7-RAID
-WindozeME, Windoze Whistler Beta1, Slackware &amp; Redhat Linux

 

[Zorba]

Reasons why my local ISP is better than AOHell. (Before I begin I will state the fact that I used AOHell from 1994 - 1997.)

• I can play Quake on a 33.6K modem with a ping of 250 or less.
• I can dial-up my ISP from any computer, without installing any software. (I also don't have to use Winblows or MacOS)
• I have been connected to my ISP for over 320 hours before, without being disconnected.
• I pay less for my account, and I never have to look at an ad for my ISP.
• When I disconnect from my ISP I don't have to download 'updates' which contain more ads
• My e-mail account is not monitored by Catwatch (Are they still called that?)
• When I go into a chat room I don't have to worry about loosing my account for saying a cuss word.
• I don't receive kiddie porn in my e-mail on a daily bases
• I have never had a hassle canceling an account with any ISP besides AOHell.
• When I run spell check while writing an e-mail it does not capitalize case.
• I can view any website without worrying about TOS
• I can use my webspace for anything I chose. Even if it is bashing my current ISP.
• Little kids don't have &quot;Hackerz&quot; programs that can punt me off my ISP.
• When I call my ISP, I don't wait on hold, and they'll do anything they can to fix my problem.
• My ISP's IP addresses are not banned anywhere on the net. Unlike AOHell whose IPs are banned many places, not just here.

I can think of much more than that, I am just sick of typing. IMHO AOHell is crap, it is made for people who can't turn on their computer, much less use Dial-up.

I'll leave you with this:
&quot;If 50 million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing&quot; - Anatole France

 

[Teatowel]

Nobody, not even AOL themselves, has given me a satisfactory answer as to why I can't post to Anandtech from my AOL account, other that AOL is just plain irresponsible. The AOL helpline here said that they can't comment on individual sites as it is a matter between them ans that particular site.

Once my current subscription ends in 3 weeks, I'm moving on. And when they ask why, and they always do here, I'll give them the long list above, starting at the top.

If they promise there and then to sort out each issue immediately, then I'll stay. Damn, with a line like that, I should become a comedian

 

[VudooCrush]

Zorba,


I can play Quake on a 33.6K modem with a ping of 250 or less.

That's pretty impressive. I did mention before that AOL wasn't a good place to play games though...

I can dial-up my ISP from any computer, without installing any software. (I also don't have to use Winblows or MacOS)

If I'm not mistaken ( I could be wrong )...AOL can be dialed-up through your standard Dial-up networking client using PPP. ( I know it was tested, but I'm not sure whatever came of it )

I have been connected to my ISP for over 320 hours before, without being disconnected.

I'm not saying I don't believe you, although that is a hard number to achieve w/ any ISP. It's not something you can prove to me, so I'm not going to comment on it.

I pay less for my account, and I never have to look at an ad for my ISP.

I'm only paying $9/month, but yes, $22 is $2 more than most ISP's charge.

When I disconnect from my ISP I don't have to download 'updates' which contain more ads

You and I both know that you don't have to download an update that frequently. And I don't believe the updates contain advertisements. Although the email screen, and the download file transfer box do.

My e-mail account is not monitored by Catwatch (Are they still called that?)

CatWatch never monitored email, just the Warez chatrooms. And no, they are pretty unheard of now days.

When I go into a chat room I don't have to worry about loosing my account for saying a cuss word.

Maybe you shouldn't be cussing. =) Anandtech doesn't allow it, why should AOL?

I don't receive kiddie porn in my e-mail on a daily bases

I never once have recieved an actual binary porn of any type in the 6 years I've been using AOL. Only advertisements ( and that can be turned off through email filtering )

I have never had a hassle canceling an account with any ISP besides AOHell.

I wouldn't know anything about that..

When I run spell check while writing an e-mail it does not capitalize case.

Never used the spellcheck feature before...I should check that out.

I can view any website without worrying about TOS

TOS doesn't do anything about the websites you view.

I can use my webspace for anything I chose. Even if it is bashing my current ISP.

Really, I would like to see you throw some kiddie porn on there and see what happens when they find out. =)

Little kids don't have &quot;Hackerz&quot; programs that can punt me off my ISP.

Punting doesn't work anymore.

When I call my ISP, I don't wait on hold, and they'll do anything they can to fix my problem.

Hmm, I've never had to call tech. support...Just a question, what couldn't you figure out?

My ISP's IP addresses are not banned anywhere on the net. Unlike AOHell whose IPs are banned many places, not just here.

Stuff happens with large ISP's. I know when I worked at Value.net we had quite a large ban/blacklist and we only had 10,000 users.

I can think of much more than that, I am just sick of typing. IMHO AOHell is crap, it is made for people who can't turn on their computer, much less use Dial-up.

Well, that's great. Because everyone has to start somewhere. I'm sure your first time on the computer you didn't go and configure your network settings and setup D.U.N...or setup a pop3 account...Think about what someone typically needs to learn if they plan on setting all of this up themselves. They have to know a lot of stuff unless someones walking them through it. And most people don't want to feel like an idiot on the phone and have someone teach them these steps. When I worked at Value.net I had some extremely ridiculous questions..Things that you wouldn't think someone doesn't know. For example:
------------------------------------------------------
Me: Ok now, I'd like you to try and open up a webpage just for a test, so double click on the big blue &quot;E&quot; on your desktop.
User: The one that says &quot;Internet Explorer&quot;?
Me: Yes, and once your in there I want you to type in: www.yahoo.com
User: Where do I type it in?
Me: Theres a long rectangular white box at the top that you can type in, do you see it?
User: ummmmmmmm...uhh..oh! there it is.
Me: Ok, I want you to type in: www.yahoo.com
User: But it says www.msn.com in it
Me: Ok, just delete that and I want you to type in www.yahoo.com
User: ok...wwwdotyahoodotcom
Me: Did a webpage come up?
User: no, I don't think it worked, something about page not found
Me: Try it again, type in w w w . y a h o o . c o m ( speaking very slowly )
User: same thing happend
Me: Ok, I want you to tell me exactly, letter by letter what your typing in.
User: wwwdotyahoodotcom
Me: ohhh..see, I meant hit the period key, not type dot, hehe
User: Oh, I'm so dumb, I'm sorry, I'm new at this whole computer thing, let me try it now
User: it worked!
Me: Great! Your all ready! Have a nice day!
-------------------------------------------------------------

This is a true story. Not kidding at all, and this kind of thing happend all the time. Even users who had been using computers for a long time. The only people that called in that didn't need help were the Unix/Linux gurus just asking for more shell space..I've been using computers since AOL ran in DOS. And I still love AOL to this day because it makes things easier, and I don't have to worry about downtime. The ISP I worked for always had problems, and occasionally so did the ones I subscribed to. AOL is very reliable. Hell, you can even check your email over the phone now. So come on, I'm not trying to force you to use AOL, I just can't see why everyone hates it so much. It's like Windows and Linux - Each OS caters to a certain persons needs. Doesn't mean I should hate Microsoft because it doesn't do everything I want it to. And Vice-Versa..You know what I'm looking forward to? AOL for Linux...It's in alpha-stages right now, but I got to see a copy and it looks really cool, and is extremely fast. It's too bad it probably won't be released because it's going to go in embedded products like your refrigerator in a couple years..Sorry the paragraph is so long..

~http://www.VudooCrush.net~
[ Coming Soon! Linux Newbie Distro. Guide! ]

-Thunderbird 1ghz
-Mushkin PC150 256MB
-ABIT KT7-RAID
-WindozeME, Windoze Whistler Beta1, Slackware &amp; Redhat Linux

 

[Teatowel]

and here ends this thread

 

[Zorba]

If I'm not mistaken ( I could be wrong )...AOL can be dialed-up through your standard Dial-up networking client using PPP. ( I know it was tested, but I'm not sure whatever came of it )

I've always been told that you have to use Winsock to dial into AOL.

I'm not saying I don't believe you, although that is a hard number to achieve w/ any ISP. It's not something you can prove to me, so I'm not going to comment on it.

I can send you a pic that shows my connect after 140 hours. I got the 320 before I started taking pics of my connection windows.

You and I both know that you don't have to download an update that frequently. And I don't believe the updates contain advertisements. Although the email screen, and the download file transfer box do.

In the three years I've been with my ISP, I've never had to download any update (never had to download anything actually). And AOL has admitted before that those updates do contain ads.

CatWatch never monitored email, just the Warez chatrooms. And no, they are pretty unheard of now days.

I forgot who used to monitor e-mail, but I know it was. I know people who lost their account for a couple weeks for cussing in a private e-mail. Also Catwatch would go to all the rooms, not just the Warez rooms.

Maybe you shouldn't be cussing. =) Anandtech doesn't allow it, why should AOL?

Everyone cussing sometimes. Also I cuss all the time on Anandtech, and have never been baned (or even warned).

I never once have received an actual binary porn of any type in the 6 years I've been using AOL. Only advertisements ( and that can be turned off through email filtering)

I received a lot of it, myself. I never used the filtering system, because back then they really sucked. There was an option to not get e-mail from people not on AOL (no way I'd do that) and an option to not receive e-mail from people not on my list (no way I'd do that either).

TOS doesn't do anything about the websites you view.

When I was there, you could loss your account by looking at Anti-AOL sites.

Really, I would like to see you throw some kiddie porn on there and see what happens when they find out. =)

My ISP wouldn't care, the FBI would though.

Punting doesn't work anymore.

I'll believe you that it doesn't work on AOL itself anymore, but it still works on AIM.

Hmm, I've never had to call tech. support...Just a question, what couldn't you figure out?

I can and bitch at them when something happens. Ex. We had a storm that knocked out the power in Tulsa, so all the servers were down (including the AOL ones in the area). I called and bitched at them for about ten minutes, until they gave me account credit . I also call if someone else is using my account (it is on my Laptop, that other people use sometimes). I call and tell them I am ghosting, they tell the servers I am not on, that way we can both use it. When some of their servers were down once, I called and got them to give me their business only IP so I could log on.

Stuff happens with large ISP's. I know when I worked at Value.net we had quite a large ban/blacklist and we only had 10,000 users.

My ISP is decent sizes, but I still haven't found a site that doesn't like it.

Well, that's great. Because everyone has to start somewhere. I'm sure your first time on the computer you didn't go and configure your network

I think AOL is great for people that don't know how to work their computer. But I think it should just be taken as a step in the learning curve.


and I don't have to worry about downtime.

Aol must have gotten much better since I left. I know when I was using it there was very bad downtimes, with no warning.

Hell, you can even check your email over the phone now.

I've been able to for over a year now.

So come on, I'm not trying to force you to use AOL,

You said that we were jealous of AOLers, I was telling you why I would never be jealous of that service.

I just can't see why everyone hates it so much. It's like Windows and Linux - Each OS caters to a certain persons needs. Doesn't mean I should hate Microsoft because it doesn't do everything I want it to. And Vice-Versa

I hate AOL because they are attempting to become a monopoly. They don't innovate, they buy. I believe AOL serves a purpose, but it has gotten too big for it's own good. I also hate Microsh!t, because they are a monopoly. I can give you a thousand reasons why I hate Winblows. (BTW: I have Microsh!t much more the AOHell.)


AOL for Linux...It's in alpha-stages right now, but I got to see a copy and it looks really cool, and is extremely fast.

I've never really heard of much demand for AOL on Linux, but at least they are making something new.

It's too bad it probably won't be released because it's going to go in embedded products like your refrigerator in a couple years

I doubt AOL will be used in those kinds of products.

But all and all, no point in fighting over this. I just didn't like you saying that we were jealous of AOL.

BTW: Microsh!t? is trademarked to NAComp .

 

[starlitt]

:disgust: sucky ol' la AOL.

 

[Viztech]

<< Unlike every other major ISP we have dealt with under similar circumstances, AOL repeatedly refused to give us appropriate technical assistance to stop him. Our moderators are unpaid volunteers, and we simply do not have time to deal with irresponsible ISP's such as AOL. >>



Amen.

I ran into this head on when I got hacked by an AOL user a while back. I had an unbelievable amount of info on the user including IP address, time, nicknames, city, etc.
AOL had the balls to blame my ISP! There were of Zero assistance in helping to get the message to this 14 year old person that what he was doing was wrong.
I salute the AnandTech Mods for this policy. It is only when enough pressure is brought to bear on these ISPs that abuse the Internet that the message will be made clear.

As for the AOL mail service, just get out on the 'net and find a provider of IMAP mail service, and you will have the same type of service.

viz

 

[prodigy]

AOL to the internet is what Imac is to a computer.

 

[Teatowel]

Just found another reason why I hate AOL.. I can't log on to my university email account at Imperial College. Every other ISP I have come across has let me do this..hell I can log on from an Internet cafe in Pakistan, just not from my own home