AOL: Love It or Hate IT? New: MS Love it or Hate IT?

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Albis

Platinum Member
May 29, 2004
2,722
0
0
i hate AOL b/c back when I used it, it was very pricy compared to competiters and was very bloated.
 

CVSiN

Diamond Member
Jul 19, 2004
9,289
0
0
Originally posted by: Googer
I would blame the improper page loads on The Internet Explorer source code that AOL relies on for its web browsing. IE is notorious for not adhereing to standard protocols like CSS and SSL.

You sir are either
A: an AOL employee doing marketing research.
B: a 60 year old new to the internet dweeb
c: a cluless 13 year old that loves the chat!
d: an Internet stalker that loves AOL becasue of all the 12 year old girls you can stalk..
e: a combo of the above...

I am a tech I have worked for many companies in the past Including Time Warner doing on site Road Runner support

in my experience... AOL uses 0 MS code in thier browser.. it is a steaming pile of poo that forces you where they want you to go...

AOL has been known to completely corrupt windows installs and TCIP stacks...
becasue of thier crappy programming and the failure of thier install programs to sweep for old versions of the software... there fore I have seen users that get those CDs in the mail have 5-10 SEPARATE AOL installs on a PC and wonder why they are having trouble...
only to check network settings and see no less than 5 different AOL TCP stacks....

AOL nothing but pure bloat and highway robbers... they charge for a service that has nothing you cant get for FREE if you pay a lower rate from a REAL internet company...

Chat... IRC
news MSN CNN etc..
Music... MTV newsgroups etc..
Mail....
you name it... faster cheaper and more healthy PC..
and less service calls
 

MrNutz

Banned
Oct 18, 2001
851
0
0
Originally posted by: CVSiN

becasue of thier crappy programming and the failure of thier install programs to sweep for old versions of the software... there fore I have seen users that get those CDs in the mail have 5-10 SEPARATE AOL installs on a PC and wonder why they are having trouble...
only to check network settings and see no less than 5 different AOL TCP stacks....
I actually don't think it's possible for an AOL user to have less than 2 installs on their computer nowadays. Even if they are installing for the first time, they will inadvertently install it again... just to make sure they got aol... :disgust:
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
56,515
16,237
146
Originally posted by: CVSiN
Originally posted by: Googer
I would blame the improper page loads on The Internet Explorer source code that AOL relies on for its web browsing. IE is notorious for not adhereing to standard protocols like CSS and SSL.

You sir are either
A: an AOL employee doing marketing research.
B: a 60 year old new to the internet dweeb
c: a cluless 13 year old that loves the chat!
d: an Internet stalker that loves AOL becasue of all the 12 year old girls you can stalk..
e: a combo of the above...

I am a tech I have worked for many companies in the past Including Time Warner doing on site Road Runner support

in my experience... AOL uses 0 MS code in thier browser.. it is a steaming pile of poo that forces you where they want you to go...

AOL has been known to completely corrupt windows installs and TCIP stacks...
becasue of thier crappy programming and the failure of thier install programs to sweep for old versions of the software... there fore I have seen users that get those CDs in the mail have 5-10 SEPARATE AOL installs on a PC and wonder why they are having trouble...
only to check network settings and see no less than 5 different AOL TCP stacks....

AOL nothing but pure bloat and highway robbers... they charge for a service that has nothing you cant get for FREE if you pay a lower rate from a REAL internet company...

Chat... IRC
news MSN CNN etc..
Music... MTV newsgroups etc..
Mail....
you name it... faster cheaper and more healthy PC..
and less service calls

ALL of those problems are USER ERROR. AOL does not delete old versions so a person can maintain internet connectivity if there is something wrong with the new version. The instalation instructions tell you to delete the old version after you verify the new works and connects.

Folks, again, the problems you associate with AOL are, in reality, problems with computer illiterate people in general. They are USER ERRORS that occur when someone does not read the instructions. I have used AOL since 2.0 and have had few, if any of the problem you guys are talking about.
 

Salvador

Diamond Member
May 19, 2001
7,058
0
71
Well.. One of the reasons is that some sites block access to AOL accounts, including this one, because AOL accounts are so easy to get and remain anonymous. A lot of Ebay frauds are done with AOL accounts because of this. They also don't do a very good job at blocking spam or at least they didn't.

One of the biggest reasons why I disliked AOL was because they oversold their servers and you could never log on during peak times. This was back during dial up.

Another reason was because the software seemed so dumbed down and unique to AOL. I can see why people that get started on AOL, that aren't computer savvy, stay with AOL. I think it's by design. People are afraid to learn something else once they are used to the way AOL works. That's why they run promotions to try and get newbies. Once a person learns how to use a regular web browser with the internet, they really don't have any desire to go to something like AOL.

Of course, AOL could've changed. The last time I used AOL was about 5 years ago.

Sal
 

CVSiN

Diamond Member
Jul 19, 2004
9,289
0
0
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: CVSiN
Originally posted by: Googer
I would blame the improper page loads on The Internet Explorer source code that AOL relies on for its web browsing. IE is notorious for not adhereing to standard protocols like CSS and SSL.

You sir are either
A: an AOL employee doing marketing research.
B: a 60 year old new to the internet dweeb
c: a cluless 13 year old that loves the chat!
d: an Internet stalker that loves AOL becasue of all the 12 year old girls you can stalk..
e: a combo of the above...

I am a tech I have worked for many companies in the past Including Time Warner doing on site Road Runner support

in my experience... AOL uses 0 MS code in thier browser.. it is a steaming pile of poo that forces you where they want you to go...

AOL has been known to completely corrupt windows installs and TCIP stacks...
becasue of thier crappy programming and the failure of thier install programs to sweep for old versions of the software... there fore I have seen users that get those CDs in the mail have 5-10 SEPARATE AOL installs on a PC and wonder why they are having trouble...
only to check network settings and see no less than 5 different AOL TCP stacks....

AOL nothing but pure bloat and highway robbers... they charge for a service that has nothing you cant get for FREE if you pay a lower rate from a REAL internet company...

Chat... IRC
news MSN CNN etc..
Music... MTV newsgroups etc..
Mail....
you name it... faster cheaper and more healthy PC..
and less service calls

ALL of those problems are USER ERROR. AOL does not delete old versions so a person can maintain internet connectivity if there is something wrong with the new version. The instalation instructions tell you to delete the old version after you verify the new works and connects.

Folks, again, the problems you associate with AOL are, in reality, problems with computer illiterate people in general. They are USER ERRORS that occur when someone does not read the instructions. I have used AOL since 2.0 and have had few, if any of the problem you guys are talking about.


You just made my point...
the users are generally Morons.. so WRITE your software for the morons..
it needs to be idiot proof..
or the users fvck up thier computers and then they have to call em to come and fix it..
AOL is for newbs that have no buisniess on the net in the first place...
so treat them as such..

Im glad AOL is in trouble and will become a non dial up company according to recent press releases it will just be a free add on for Roadrunner... and become broadband only
should eliminate alot of the morons

 

xospec1alk

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2002
4,329
0
0
Originally posted by: Salvador
Well.. One of the reasons is that some sites block access to AOL accounts, including this one, because AOL accounts are so easy to get and remain anonymous. A lot of Ebay frauds are done with AOL accounts because of this. They also don't do a very good job at blocking spam or at least they didn't.

One of the biggest reasons why I disliked AOL was because they oversold their servers and you could never log on during peak times. This was back during dial up.

Another reason was because the software seemed so dumbed down and unique to AOL. I can see why people that get started on AOL, that aren't computer savvy, stay with AOL. I think it's by design. People are afraid to learn something else once they are used to the way AOL works. That's why they run promotions to try and get newbies. Once a person learns how to use a regular web browser with the internet, they really don't have any desire to go to something like AOL.

Of course, AOL could've changed. The last time I used AOL was about 5 years ago.

Sal


i agree
 

xospec1alk

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2002
4,329
0
0
Originally posted by: Googer
One of my biggest gripes about AOL is their Email Program, while it has some very nice email composing features; It will automaticly delete any message older than 30 days and does not support POP3 or IMAP. GMAIL Rocks!

there was an option to archive your old mail into another folder. Personal Filing Cabinet iirc, in the years I was using AOL, I kept every single piece of mail I ever wrote. Sucks that I did a clean install one time and forgot to back up that directory...oh well.
 

Avalon

Diamond Member
Jul 16, 2001
7,567
156
106
I really don't like AOL that much. I used to use it as my primary internet service around version 3.0, and well....buh. I never had any system problems, but I just didn't like having to have this large program running just to go online. Once in a while during peak hours I would only get busy signals, but it wasn't that bad. However, I've never gotten busy signals with any other ISP.

I wound up switching to Juno, which was an improvement speedwise, but again, was not fond of having a program running to keep my connection. There was actually a bug in Juno 4.0 where if you went to the URL bar in its built in browser, clicked inside as if you were going to type in a website, and scrolled your mouse wheel, it would cause the program to crash and quit out, but your connection still stayed on. That was awesome :D
They wound up fixing that bug in a later version, but by that point I was enjoying cable.

You know, what really gets me about AOL, though, is that when I go over a friend's house or get a tech call to inspect someone's computer, if they have AOL their system is always down on its knees, and I just don't understand it. Usually I won't even deal with it, because it's frustrating. Heh.
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
6
81
Originally posted by: MrNutz
AOL has been crap ever since they killed the fate and server warez rooms... but of course 97% of the ppl in this forum have no idea what I'm talking about thought... that was back in the AOL 3.0 to 5.0 days :confused:

Oh yeah, this too:

Good Laugh for Ol' School AOLers...

Thanks for the dead link...
 

xospec1alk

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2002
4,329
0
0
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: MrNutz
AOL has been crap ever since they killed the fate and server warez rooms... but of course 97% of the ppl in this forum have no idea what I'm talking about thought... that was back in the AOL 3.0 to 5.0 days :confused:

Oh yeah, this too:

Good Laugh for Ol' School AOLers...

Thanks for the dead link...

it was funny at first the server rooms were killed, and then it took a while for them to realize they changed the name to cerver, and then zerver....and t hen they got off that naming convention...stupid aol hehe

 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
6
81
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: CVSiN
Originally posted by: Googer
I would blame the improper page loads on The Internet Explorer source code that AOL relies on for its web browsing. IE is notorious for not adhereing to standard protocols like CSS and SSL.

You sir are either
A: an AOL employee doing marketing research.
B: a 60 year old new to the internet dweeb
c: a cluless 13 year old that loves the chat!
d: an Internet stalker that loves AOL becasue of all the 12 year old girls you can stalk..
e: a combo of the above...
f: none of the above

I am a tech I have worked for many companies in the past Including Time Warner doing on site Road Runner support

in my experience... AOL uses 0 MS code in thier browser.. it is a steaming pile of poo that forces you where they want you to go...

AOL has been known to completely corrupt windows installs and TCIP stacks...
becasue of thier crappy programming and the failure of thier install programs to sweep for old versions of the software... there fore I have seen users that get those CDs in the mail have 5-10 SEPARATE AOL installs on a PC and wonder why they are having trouble...
only to check network settings and see no less than 5 different AOL TCP stacks....

AOL nothing but pure bloat and highway robbers... they charge for a service that has nothing you cant get for FREE if you pay a lower rate from a REAL internet company...

Chat... IRC
news MSN CNN etc..
Music... MTV newsgroups etc..
Mail....
you name it... faster cheaper and more healthy PC..
and less service calls

ALL of those problems are USER ERROR. AOL does not delete old versions so a person can maintain internet connectivity if there is something wrong with the new version. The instalation instructions tell you to delete the old version after you verify the new works and connects.

Folks, again, the problems you associate with AOL are, in reality, problems with computer illiterate people in general. They are USER ERRORS that occur when someone does not read the instructions. I have used AOL since 2.0 and have had few, if any of the problem you guys are talking about.


Ok, A+ is a Certification not a Rating (system)

My answer to the question above is letter F
 

piroroadkill

Senior member
Sep 27, 2004
731
0
0
Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
Originally posted by: Googer
AOL Customer Service is top notch, I have never found another company as willing to please as AOL.

What have you been smoking?
Because I want some! :D

Dude, you don't. It makes you think AOL IS GOOD.

Think about that again. That must be some STRONG SHIT.
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
6
81
Originally posted by: xospec1alk
Originally posted by: Googer
One of my biggest gripes about AOL is their Email Program, while it has some very nice email composing features; It will automaticly delete any message older than 30 days and does not support POP3 or IMAP. GMAIL Rocks!

there was an option to archive your old mail into another folder. Personal Filing Cabinet iirc, in the years I was using AOL, I kept every single piece of mail I ever wrote. Sucks that I did a clean install one time and forgot to back up that directory...oh well.

I know that, but It is not avalable on all versions. I don't know of any other program that deletes unanserd e-mail. No matter how long I keep email in my mozilla mail box on the Gmail or yahoo server none of it ever gets deleted unless I tell it so. Too bad aol does not do this.
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
6
81
Originally posted by: xospec1alk
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: MrNutz
AOL has been crap ever since they killed the fate and server warez rooms... but of course 97% of the ppl in this forum have no idea what I'm talking about thought... that was back in the AOL 3.0 to 5.0 days :confused:

Oh yeah, this too:

Good Laugh for Ol' School AOLers...

Thanks for the dead link...

it was funny at first the server rooms were killed, and then it took a while for them to realize they changed the name to cerver, and then zerver....and t hen they got off that naming convention...stupid aol hehe


Never mind it is working now, My fault.
 

xospec1alk

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2002
4,329
0
0
Originally posted by: Googer

I know that, but It is not avalable on all versions. I don't know of any other program that deletes unanserd e-mail. No matter how long I keep email in my mozilla mail box on the Gmail or yahoo server none of it ever gets deleted unless I tell it so. Too bad aol does not do this.

They had it in version 2.5...and i would expect that they would have it in later versions...i really really hope they did...thats retarded if they didn't
 

piroroadkill

Senior member
Sep 27, 2004
731
0
0
Originally posted by: mchammer187
without AOL what would haxx0r wannabees have to bash to make them feel L337

You do know this isn't just the reason people bash AOL.

I know over here, at least, if you try and cancel a free trial, or cancel your account at all, they will practically resort to fellatio before actually letting you cancel it. It's pathetic. Either that or they will get unreasonable ratty with you.

Their support sucks.

The speed of the service sucks, their advertising sucks, and in the UK, they have been on a borderline-legal tax dodge for a long time, so they don't even help our economy.

You get disconnected a LOT, I hear people cursing near-constantly, one of which was my ex-girlfriend, and it always seemed to be those who 'UPGRADED' to the 1Mbit service, oddly.

Believe me, there's more to it than "OMG I'm such a fagg0t lets bash AOL".
 

miri

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2003
3,679
0
76
I dont like AOl because they make like billions of cds and send them out filling our landfills.
 

xospec1alk

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2002
4,329
0
0
Originally posted by: piroroadkill
Believe me, there's more to it than "OMG I'm such a fagg0t lets bash AOL".

you'd be surprised...i don't know if you read the whole thread but theres a lot of replies that have no reason other than aol sucks.

 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
6
81
Originally posted by: piroroadkill
Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
Originally posted by: Googer
AOL Customer Service is top notch, I have never found another company as willing to please as AOL.

What have you been smoking?
Because I want some! :D

Dude, you don't. It makes you think AOL IS GOOD.

Think about that again. That must be some STRONG SHIT.


I Never said they were the best ISP in the world, Because they are not and are so far from perfect. I had a 96 year old neighbor untill late last year when he passed on, He was an AoL subscriber and loved the service but he knew nothing about computers or trouble shooting. He would always call on me to come over and help him when he had a billing or connecion problem. I called AoL many times on his behalf and generaly found All of the customer service and tech support personel to be VERRY friendly and willing to listen. Even if that particualr person did not know usualy they would do what was with in the powers granted to them by management to fix or remidy the problems you were having. From my experience they were AIMing to please.

I am not a fanboy of any company, Not Intel, AMD, MS, SuSE, AOL, or McDonalds. I hold no loyalty to anyone, any thing, or any company.
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,576
6
81
Originally posted by: piroroadkill
Originally posted by: mchammer187
without AOL what would haxx0r wannabees have to bash to make them feel L337

You do know this isn't just the reason people bash AOL.

I know over here, at least, if you try and cancel a free trial, or cancel your account at all, they will practically resort to fellatio before actually letting you cancel it. It's pathetic. Either that or they will get unreasonable ratty with you.

Their support sucks.

The speed of the service sucks, their advertising sucks, and in the UK, they have been on a borderline-legal tax dodge for a long time, so they don't even help our economy.

You get disconnected a LOT, I hear people cursing near-constantly, one of which was my ex-girlfriend, and it always seemed to be those who 'UPGRADED' to the 1Mbit service, oddly.

Believe me, there's more to it than "OMG I'm such a fagg0t lets bash AOL".


That sucks, I know the feeling and hate it when companies from the UK come to the US and refuse to pay Uncle Sam taxes.... What a world we live in.
 

piroroadkill

Senior member
Sep 27, 2004
731
0
0
Originally posted by: xospec1alk
Originally posted by: piroroadkill
Believe me, there's more to it than "OMG I'm such a fagg0t lets bash AOL".

you'd be surprised...i don't know if you read the whole thread but theres a lot of replies that have no reason other than aol sucks.

Hey, not arguing, I've seen this happen, but there are real reasons to dislike AOL, however the guys who go "I just don't like AOL because I don't, OMG, I suck" are mis-informed, those sort of people are the ones are form opinions of people within seconds and think almost everyone is a "lovely human".
 

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,422
14,333
136
Originally posted by: loki8481
Originally posted by: Babbles
AOL is probably the single best thing that has happend to the internet.
fixed.

AOL really helped fuel the internet explosion in the mid/late 90's.
This is true. AOL was a great way to connect to the internet back before Windows came with a phone dialer and built-in browser (which was Win95B with IE3 when that happened btw).
AOL was also the first to come out with flat-fee pricing too. $19.95 unlimited use back when most ISP's were $20 bucks/month for 20 hours plus $0.50 for each additional hour. Of course, after they first did that, demand skyrocketed so high that it could take more than an hour to connect sometimes.
AOL was also the first in my area to switch to 56k, which was a really freakin' big deal back in '97.

But that was AOL then. Today and for the past 5 years, AOL has been the debbil.

Originally posted by: dwell
AOL is like P&N -- it keeps all the bad people in one corral.
Yep, that is what AOL became.