What do you think of Aol

thefroggy · 25 Apr 2003, 02:07 AM

Hello All...

I'd like to know you opinions on Aol...
Do you think it works...
It sucks...
It's good...
It the best !

xxx
Froggy

teacher · 25 Apr 2003, 02:14 AM

Not a lot at all!!!

thefroggy · 25 Apr 2003, 03:55 AM

Why do you find Aol sucky...

besides for the obvious reasons like it just shut downs for it self..

you try to IM...people it doesn't work

( the list goes on )

btn · 25 Apr 2003, 04:37 AM

Depends on your needs... What do you want to do online?

**psalzer** · 25 Apr 2003, 10:00 AM

I have a friend who lives in two different homes that are a couple of thousand miles apart and on top of that she's on the road a lot. She has a computer in each home, and a laptop and she's not very geeky. AOL is good for that. Another acquaintance is a musician who's on the road most of the year and also lives in more than one place when he's home, and also finds AOL useful, but when he's in his main home, he uses a local provider. One thing about it is that people can always find an access number, at least in the states but also in much of the rest of the world. AOL still seems to be rather slow and gives people fits when it decides not to load sites on the web, outside AOL, but for myself, I haven't used in years. It seems to be more reliable than it was a few years ago. I've never seen the point to the content they provide. I tried it twice, both times in the 90s and gave it up each time. It costs more than comparable access.

Killer · 25 Apr 2003, 11:26 AM

The only impression AOL gave me was that I kept reading about how their services are poor, not up to standard user support. But what I have encountered are spammers using AOL domains...

lux · 25 Apr 2003, 01:01 PM

Not doing well, net loss last quarter...

Killer · 25 Apr 2003, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lux
Not doing well, net loss last quarter...

Probably due to all the merging with other companies

teacher · 25 Apr 2003, 05:56 PM

I look at it like a virus! It gets in and it's hard to get out!!!!!!

thefroggy · 25 Apr 2003, 08:20 PM

Thankies for your posts all.....

But correct me if I'm wrong most of you think that Aol sucks...

remember the more opinions the more threads..

Thankies Again
xxx
The Froggy

redmyrlin · 25 Apr 2003, 10:40 PM

Justs like to put in a good word for AOL. I've been using them as my main ISP since 1998 and have had no problems with them at all. Unlike many ISPs they do not have a "cut you off after 2 hours" policy and they are also cheaper than some.

That said, I do not really make use of many of their in-house features - just as a connection to the net, after which I browse using Firebird and access my mail with Thunderbird.

Nektar1973 · 26 Apr 2003, 01:02 AM

The bad.
Overpriced, ad ridden pop-up windows service.

The good.
A great starter ISP. Same with Webtv.

On a side note, I have not tried AOL since 1995, but I know others who have it.
They are very careless with your credit card info. I signed up to get dial-up service from Roadrunner cable last year, which is a free back-up to the broadband service.
Next thing I know I was being charged $24 a month on my CC.

**Shelded** · 29 Apr 2003, 11:00 AM

Quote:

The bad.
Overpriced, ad ridden pop-up windows service.

The good.
A great starter ISP. Same with Webtv.

The worst.
People tell me it takes months to cancel and get them to stop billing.
(I think they're expensive ! when elsewhere you can get 150 hrs/mo for under $10.)

I think they left the 'h" out of the middle of the domain name

stu2012 · 29 Apr 2003, 12:29 PM

As Nektar1973 says, AOL as a starter ISP is a good bet. I had very few problems connecting to the service and it was always pretty reliable.

The ads problem can be frustrating but you can minimise most of the problems by changing the marketing preferences.

AOL foster a "community" spirit... it's main selling point was (and still is) chat rooms and instant messenging. There are also the message boards plus access to newsgroups. You can also purchase a seperate product called Powertools (from BPS) - a wrap around for AOL giving you a great deal more functionality than the basic software.

There is also a good deal of online content which means that for the occasional user, they never really have to travel into the big bad world of the internet.

Having said all that, I left AOL for a number of reasons...

AOL have never provided access to email through 3rd party s/w such as Outlook Express - AOL uses a proprietary format for sending and receiving email. This is very frustrating if you use other email accounts and want to centralise everything under one software product (however, I was recently told that AOL are in the process of developing something for this - alternatively check out www.enetbot.com).

In the years I was with them, they never improved the functionality within message boards/newsgroups. Reading, writing and searching posts is extremely clumsy.

Phone support is poor - in this country it can take half an hour to just get an answer. The technical knowledge is low - if you're after support you'd be best to get it online if you're able to login or post to one of the IT message boards.

Possibly, because of it's popularity and ease of use, prepare to spend a lot of your time in chat rooms dealing with idiots. Mind you - that may not be true of just AOL these days

In short - AOL is great for first time users but there are far better alternatives available once you're more aquainted with the net. If you decide to leave, you can still send messages to people on AOL using the free AIM product.

admiralu · 29 Apr 2003, 12:48 PM

AOL is great for people who don't know how to use the Internet, in short, a beginner's spot. When they grow up and learn to surf for themselves, they can find better sites and services. The spam, being kicked off, even though you are a paid user, and the annoying ads don't give them much to brag about!

25 Apr 2003, 02:07 AM	#1
thefroggy Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: London Posts: 23	What do you think of Aol Hello All... I'd like to know you opinions on Aol... Do you think it works... It sucks... It's good... It the best ! xxx Froggy

25 Apr 2003, 02:14 AM	#2
teacher Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: UK Posts: 1,167	Not A lot! Not a lot at all!!!

25 Apr 2003, 03:55 AM	#3
thefroggy Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: London Posts: 23	but why ??? Why do you find Aol sucky... besides for the obvious reasons like it just shut downs for it self.. you try to IM...people it doesn't work ( the list goes on )

25 Apr 2003, 04:37 AM	#4
btn Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: San Jose, CA, US Posts: 688 Representative of: Everyone.net	Re: What do you think of Aol Depends on your needs... What do you want to do online?

25 Apr 2003, 05:56 PM	#9
teacher Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: UK Posts: 1,167	I look at it like a virus! It gets in and it's hard to get out!!!!!! Last edited by teacher : 25 Apr 2003 at 06:00 PM.

25 Apr 2003, 10:00 AM	#5
psalzer Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 2,654	I have a friend who lives in two different homes that are a couple of thousand miles apart and on top of that she's on the road a lot. She has a computer in each home, and a laptop and she's not very geeky. AOL is good for that. Another acquaintance is a musician who's on the road most of the year and also lives in more than one place when he's home, and also finds AOL useful, but when he's in his main home, he uses a local provider. One thing about it is that people can always find an access number, at least in the states but also in much of the rest of the world. AOL still seems to be rather slow and gives people fits when it decides not to load sites on the web, outside AOL, but for myself, I haven't used in years. It seems to be more reliable than it was a few years ago. I've never seen the point to the content they provide. I tried it twice, both times in the 90s and gave it up each time. It costs more than comparable access.

25 Apr 2003, 11:26 AM	#6
Killer Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Singapore Posts: 6,762 Representative of: Killer.kkk.sg	The only impression AOL gave me was that I kept reading about how their services are poor, not up to standard user support. But what I have encountered are spammers using AOL domains...

25 Apr 2003, 01:01 PM	#7
lux The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,274	Not doing well, net loss last quarter...

25 Apr 2003, 08:20 PM	#10
thefroggy Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: London Posts: 23	Thankies For Your Posts.... Thankies for your posts all..... But correct me if I'm wrong most of you think that Aol sucks... remember the more opinions the more threads.. Thankies Again xxx The Froggy

25 Apr 2003, 10:40 PM	#11
redmyrlin Master of the @ Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Scotland Posts: 1,409	Justs like to put in a good word for AOL. I've been using them as my main ISP since 1998 and have had no problems with them at all. Unlike many ISPs they do not have a "cut you off after 2 hours" policy and they are also cheaper than some. That said, I do not really make use of many of their in-house features - just as a connection to the net, after which I browse using Firebird and access my mail with Thunderbird.

26 Apr 2003, 01:02 AM	#12
Nektar1973 Essential Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 261	The bad. Overpriced, ad ridden pop-up windows service. The good. A great starter ISP. Same with Webtv. On a side note, I have not tried AOL since 1995, but I know others who have it. They are very careless with your credit card info. I signed up to get dial-up service from Roadrunner cable last year, which is a free back-up to the broadband service. Next thing I know I was being charged $24 a month on my CC.

29 Apr 2003, 12:29 PM	#14
stu2012 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: UK Posts: 1	As Nektar1973 says, AOL as a starter ISP is a good bet. I had very few problems connecting to the service and it was always pretty reliable. The ads problem can be frustrating but you can minimise most of the problems by changing the marketing preferences. AOL foster a "community" spirit... it's main selling point was (and still is) chat rooms and instant messenging. There are also the message boards plus access to newsgroups. You can also purchase a seperate product called Powertools (from BPS) - a wrap around for AOL giving you a great deal more functionality than the basic software. There is also a good deal of online content which means that for the occasional user, they never really have to travel into the big bad world of the internet. Having said all that, I left AOL for a number of reasons... AOL have never provided access to email through 3rd party s/w such as Outlook Express - AOL uses a proprietary format for sending and receiving email. This is very frustrating if you use other email accounts and want to centralise everything under one software product (however, I was recently told that AOL are in the process of developing something for this - alternatively check out www.enetbot.com). In the years I was with them, they never improved the functionality within message boards/newsgroups. Reading, writing and searching posts is extremely clumsy. Phone support is poor - in this country it can take half an hour to just get an answer. The technical knowledge is low - if you're after support you'd be best to get it online if you're able to login or post to one of the IT message boards. Possibly, because of it's popularity and ease of use, prepare to spend a lot of your time in chat rooms dealing with idiots. Mind you - that may not be true of just AOL these days In short - AOL is great for first time users but there are far better alternatives available once you're more aquainted with the net. If you decide to leave, you can still send messages to people on AOL using the free AIM product.

29 Apr 2003, 12:48 PM	#15
admiralu Essential Contributor Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Camarillo, CA Posts: 442	AOL AOL is great for people who don't know how to use the Internet, in short, a beginner's spot. When they grow up and learn to surf for themselves, they can find better sites and services. The spam, being kicked off, even though you are a paid user, and the annoying ads don't give them much to brag about!