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Author Topic: Why is AOL so stupid? Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 02-04-2003 10:37 PM                    (Yes I know there are not enough gigs here to answer that.) I still keep a minimal AOL account for continuity on an old address. That's where all my spam goes. I access the net via regular ISP's (DSL and a couple of dialups) and I used to have their 9.95 unlimited time "bring your own access" account until they jacked it up over 50% to 14.95. So I dropped back to a minimal timed account. See if this pricing makes any sense: $4.95 per month light usage plan providing 3 hours of AOL, including the Internet, with additional time priced at just $2.50 per hour. $9.95 per month limited usage plan providing 5 hours of AOL, including the Internet, with additional time priced at just $2.95 per hour. What is the logic there? Even if you always go beyond 3 hours what is the incentive to use the 9.95 account? With the 4.95 plus two exra hours @ 2.50 you're up to the same 9.95 and if you go over even more 2.50 is less than the 2.95/hr rate for extra time on the 9.95 account. What am I not understanding? This is crazy even by AOL standards.  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-04-2003 10:38 PM                        Lest you wonder whay they lost BILLIONS this past quarter???  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-04-2003 10:45 PM                     I just sign up to AOL on a yearly basis....it only costs $19.95 per month. AOL service has been very reliable for me up here, very seldom do I have any problem at all! Their virus screening of email is beyond reproach, and I have never received a virus with AOL as my ISP. (I can't say that with Microsoft, Yahoo, and and the rest of those Yahoo's that use the off-the-wall local ISP's.  |  IP: Logged William Leland III Master Film Handler Posts: 336 From: Charleston, SC, Registered: Aug 2002 posted 02-06-2003 08:51 AM                        Paul AOL charges you $19.95 a month. Is this unlimited usage? I have unlimited usage and i pay $28.95 a month.  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 02-06-2003 09:30 AM                     quote: and I have never received a virus with AOL as my ISP. AOL IS the virus! I had to install it once so I can log on with my friend's account to get a Windows Update. (Had no ISP installed at the time). After I uninstalled it, I still found little AOL links and icons all over my computer. That thing worked its way into every nook and F**king cranny in my computer!! That's exactly what a virus does. Except there's no antivirus software out there that recognizes the AOL software. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-06-2003 05:35 PM                     William, the answer is yes. $19.95 per month if you sign up for it on the annual plan. It costs $239.40 per year for unlimited usage. I don't know why you are paying so much, but if it is a limited usage plan, I can see how the cost could be so high. I would recommend you call AOL's billing department and see what the heck is going on.... Supposedly, if you just sign up one month at a time for unlimited usage, it is $21.95 per month. Go to keyword "Billing", select "What Price Plans Does AOL Offer. Click on that, and browse through it and see what your options are. Thomas, I never had any problems like you described.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 02-06-2003 06:40 PM                    I recommend AOL for beginners but beyond that I don't know why anyone would keep them as their ISP once they've mastered the art of using a search engine and can find what they want. Most ISP's are around 19.95/month and if you're willing to prepay the year they typically drop a couple bucks below that. I can't see paying extra for a service that won't even let me use a proper email program! Purely out of curiousity, what is the deal with NetZero? Does the 9.95/month account require you to look at ads? A few years back I used to play with their free service and I knew how to kill their ad console so I was just left with a live connection but I presume they've improved the software since then.  |  IP: Logged Adam Martin I'm not even gonna point out the irony. Posts: 3686 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-06-2003 06:41 PM                     I installed AOL Instant Messenger about two months ago, and I'm still finding these damn "TRY AOL FOR FREE" icons and shortcuts everywhere. The problem is, just today I figured out how to remove the one that crammed into my start button menu on the XP machine. It's as bad as the Microsoft Virus ... I mean "Favorites" ... that seem to come back every time I update Internet Explorer. *grumble grumble*  |  IP: Logged Dennis Atkinson Expert Film Handler Posts: 129 From: Birch Run Michigan Registered: Feb 2000 posted 02-06-2003 06:56 PM                        I had AOHell for a few years. AT&T has treated me nice and for $14.95 a month. You get that price when you also have them for your long distance (7cents per min.) and have an AT&T credit card. Dennis  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-06-2003 11:49 PM                     Adam, you can block all that crap by "Settings" - Preferences - and select all the crap you want for privacy, pop-ups, marketing, and BS like that. Turn it all off. That's what I did. If you don't set your preferences,you can expect seeing all that stuff. AOL is getting very concerned about in-house and out-house pop-ups, and they are taking steps to stop that nonsense. One thing for sure...they are not near as bad as Microsoft. I have not yet figured out how to disable that with them.  |  IP: Logged Nate Lehrke Master Film Handler Posts: 396 From: Denver, CO Registered: Oct 2002 posted 02-07-2003 02:05 AM                     I love AOL! Well actually I only like them for the free internet. I just keep calling them telling about how crappy there service is & they will keep giving you free months. How great is that!  |  IP: Logged Mathew Molloy Master Film Handler Posts: 357 From: The Santa Cruz Mountains Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-07-2003 04:36 AM                     Just type "AOL Sucks" into Google and you'll find hundreds of reasons why AOL is so stupid. I was with AOL for years - now I'm using the Yahoo/SBC dsl service and I'm quite happy with it. I had never been so frustrated with a company until I had to deal with AOL's billing dept. Whenever I tried to change my plan it was non-stop sales pitches. The worse came when I joined that gawd-awful "aol's traveler's advantage' program thinking it would save me money. I began with the free trial - I then called and asked it to be cancelled before I had to pay but next thing I knew $60 had been charged to my account. I went with that...then a year later I get a card saying I will be billed another $60 unless I ask for the program to be cancelled. I called and was told it was cancelled. A month later, you guessed it, charged $60 causing 3 checks to bounce and another $60 in overdraft fees at the bank. THREE calls to AOL (and a promise to have my money refunded) led to nothing, no refund, nada. Those three calls were agonizing and the last one, which led to me talking to a supervisor who went into the same sales pitch as his employees caused me to hang up the phone on him. I then went and cancelled my credit card that AOL was taking the money from, cancelled AOL (knowing they could not continue to charge me for anything with a cancelled card). I may have been able to handle this differently but I was at my wits end!  |  IP: Logged Christopher Duvall Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 500 From: Denver, CO Registered: Dec 1999 posted 02-07-2003 04:55 AM                     I never had a direct problem with AOHell. My problems lie with the majority of their users. Start Disclaimer The next statement is a generalization based on experience and does not apply to the fine people here on Film-Tech. This rant can also be applied to other MAJOR online services anf their users. End Disclaimer Just about everybody I have run across that uses AOHell are about as dumb as a retarded cabbage. I think I could give 2 more IQ points to the average user and they may be able to bark. Because they can get online, they are now a computer and network expert. These people are the sheep that are also responsible for patronizing the movies that keep getting made because they do not understand a good movie even if it them in the ear. They are the reason that the government will never do away with the Electoral College. I do not know what is worse, a virus writer or the average AOHell mindless sheep of a user that chokes out the bandwidth by keeping REAL users off-line. Now I know my disclaimer may have been forgotten by now, I know that there is some AOL users here. This rant IS not directed at you, just the primates you may be sharing bandwidth with. Can anybody here that uses AOL pass along any war-stories about the dung-slingers they have dealt with online? ANy stories that would make somebody go "What the f...?!?" or "How in the hell did they even turn on the computer?"?  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 02-07-2003 06:46 AM                        "Hey I just put up naked pics on my webcam CLICK HERE! " I hate AOL! (But hey I dont pay the bill so... )  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-07-2003 01:11 PM                     Yes, I admit some areas of AOL are VERY stupid! Make a search and hen check the lower left side of the screen says "Search for ****** on: .Find Best Prices on "********" in AOL Shopping yada yada yada .KIDS ONLY sites about "********" Jeeze....  |  IP: Logged

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