Under
Construction...
SPAM (unsolicited advertising
& junk mail)
- Every time you log onto AOL, you're asked if you'd like to buy, subscribe
or sign-up for at least one unsolicited item - sometimes many. In
all the years I've worked with 'em, this has been an immutable standard.
- It used to be that at least 1 out of five e-mail messages received in
your AOL account was junk mail. That was in 2001. Now, for every
message you want, there's 10-20 unwanted messages (SPAM). They're
not gettin any better at this, folks.
- Word is, that if you enter a 'chat room' at AOL, or frequently use Instant
Messenger; you'll get SPAMMed almost immediately.
- So, If you want to get SPAMMed, AOL is one of the best places to hang
out. If you spend much time with AOL, you'll get SPAMMed. And,
by-the-way, MSN is a very close second in this area.
User Interface
(E-Mail Client)
This has got to be one of the most kludgy, un-intuitive,
and hard to navigate interfaces foisted on Internet e-mail users... I've had
students tell me that they didn't know how bad the e-mail client was till
they'd begun to use something else. Here's a just a few of the problems:
- The e-mail client is Kludgy (which means that that the navigation and
tools provided are not intuitive, and just plain difficult to use.)
If you don't believe it, sit down with a friend who uses Outlook Express
and you'll see what I mean. Even simple procedures, like using the
address book are substantially easier and more robust in Outlook Express
- as I said, version 9.0 is substantially better, but still substantially
inferior.
- AOL attachments must be downloaded and saved to disk in order to be viewed. Then,
once downloaded, they must be located and a 'viewer' software found to actually
view it. Totally obtuse...! Any other e-mail client will allow
the graphics to be displayed right along with the message...
- AOL attachments must be exactly that... attachments. AOL doesn't
allow images to be 'inserted' directly into the message body. Oh, they do,
if you're mailing to another AOL user. If you mail to someone NOT using
AOL, the graphics get converted to attachments.
- Control of your e-mail messages is in the hands of AOL, not you - the
user. They may be deleted without your knowledge. Other e-mail
clients download the messages for storage on your hard disk or other storage
media.
- There is no way to filter your incoming e-mail or establish 'rules'. Rules
can be used to block senders, return 'canned' messages, divert incoming
e-mail to different folders, etc. There is a multitude of things you can
do with Outlook Express that are impossible with AOL.
User Interface
(Browser)
- Singularly, one of the industries worst user interfaces - but, it is getting
better. MicroSoft's Internet Explorer Browser - an unfortunate name choice,
to be sure - is just as bad as AOL. Since the name 's extremely close
to that of the best Internet browser software in the industry, Internet
Explorer. Don't be misled - Internet Explorer is a great browser.
Internet Explorer Browser, sucks...!
- User control and configuration are minimal at best, meaning... you take
what they give you. (The e-mail S/W is discussed in the next section.)
- The screen is very crowded with all the AOL menus, toolbars and ad's,
leaving little space allocated to the 'active' window.
- The 'good news' is... that you can abandon AOL's user interface and use
Internet Explorer...! Great idea - do it...!!
E-Mail (general)
- AOL (seemingly arbitrarily) deletes messages from its mail servers.
You 'think' you've saved your read messages - when you go back to
look at them, they've been deleted. Since the messages reside on AOL's
servers, you loose control.
- And then, of course, there's the issue of non-standard e-mail protocols
- see the next section.
E-Mail, Non-Standard Protocols
(MIME & SMTP)
AOL has (for some unknown reason) made and
'executive decision' to ignore the widely accepted industry-standard, e-mail
standards MIME & SMTP. The big looser is 'you'...! Not conforming
to these standards is part of the reason you have trouble viewing some messages
(and, especially attachments) sent from non-AOL users, to AOL users
and visa-versa...
- Simple Mail Transfer Protocol -- The main protocol used to send
electronic mail on the Internet. SMTP consists of a set of rules for how
a program sending mail and a program receiving mail should interact.
- Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions -- The standard for attaching
non-text files to standard Internet mail messages. Non-text files
include graphics, spreadsheets, formatted word-processor
documents, sound files, etc. An e-mail program is said
to be MIME Compliant if it can both send and receive files using the MIME
standard. When non-text files are sent using the MIME standard they
are converted (encoded) into text - although the resulting text is
not really readable. Generally speaking the MIME standard is a way of specifying
both the type of file being sent (e.g. a Quicktime™ video file),
and the method that should be used to turn it back into its original form.
- Since AOL chooses to ignore these standards, all e-mail to and from outside
systems (non-AOL) is converted to text only, hyperlinks are eliminated,
and graphics are sent as attachments. The attachment thing is a real problem
for new users and a few experienced ones too...
Least Common Denominator
Usually, AOL appeals to the least technically savvy,
those new to the Internet and e-mail - "The Least Common Denominator".
Since they have little or no experience, they don't know what they miss
by becoming AOL subscribers... Most people, after a year or so experience,
abandon AOL like rats leaving a sinking ship... In fact, in 2003, I
believe that AOL lost nearly a million subscribers...!
- Ever wonder why almost all rumors about a HOAX virus or earning a new
Honda by sending e-mail messages come from AOL subscribers...? It's
"the least common denominator syndrome...!" AOL subscribers have
little or no experience, so tend to pass that kind of stuff around as gospel...
- Almost all the jokes and cartoons, you know the ones, the ones that you've
seen five times already; come from AOL, CompuServe or Prodigy subscribers.
Censorship
AOL censors the content of, not only their website,
but the content of the websites you are 'allowed' to visit. Yes, AOL
will limit your ability to log onto various websites if they're deemed to
be of questionable social value. Of course that puts AOL in the position
of dictating what you can... and want you can't view... Just a bit Orwellian,
for my taste. How about you...?
Well... it's now 2004, and I still don't like AOL or MSN
either, for that matter. In fact, if asked about what dial-up ISP to
use, I'd warn you well away from the following list:
- AOL
- CompuServe
- Prodigy
- Juno
- MSN, and
- PeoplePC
These dial-up ISP's are among the worst on the
Web and you'd be far better served with another - almost any other...!.
ATT WorldNet always get great ratings and there are several 'local' ISP's
that also do a great job. Among them are: GLS3C - serving North Port,
Englewood and Port Charlotte; EWOL - serving Englewood, Venice and Sarasota;
and KUDOS - serving Sarasota and Venice.
As a matter of fact, choose any ISP that allows you
to use Outlook, or Outlook Express as your e-mail client (program).
Don't be forced into a situation where all the ISP has to offer (like
1-6 above) is some form of "WebMail", which you get to using
a browser like Internet Explorer...
Meanwhile, back to AOL... In 2004 AOL's release
9.0 is out. This release is much better than release 2.0; 3.0; 4.0;
5.0; 6.0; 7.0; and 8.0. Man, you gotta give 'em credit for trying...!
But, after all those releases; and after all those years, they're still
just barely in the ballgame. Let me tell you why....
AOL is always among the ISPs listed at the bottom of almost
every industry survey of ISPs. Why...? Because AOL provides
much worse than average 'service'...! Those 'in the know' call it "the
training wheels for the Internet."
AOL loves to charge top dollar for their offering (now
$24.95), but are (seemingly) only willing to provide bargain-basement
service...
Below, IMHO (In My Humble Opinion), are some bullet-point
reasons why you should consider selecting a service provider other than AOL.
Should you like to contact AOL (to dump 'em, for example...?)
visit my "AOL Contact Page..."
