Ch-ch-ch-changes
AOL has had a lot of grief over the last week, not allowing me to log in, giving me 404’s, etc.
I have been on AOL since it was DOS based. For a brief time, I worked as an online CL, to pay the bill when I couldn’t afford to any other way. Hundreds and hundreds of people use that email address. And now it looks very much like it has become unreliable.
C’est la vie.
Are you still using AOL for internet access, or just for email? If you’re still stuck doing dialup, I’d get a web based email address. Most everyone has my gmail address now, rather than my ISP based email account. That way if I switch away from Comcrap, I don’t have to tell everyone my new email address.
Of course it’s far more likely that I’ll decide that I no longer believe that Google isn’t evil, than I’ll switch from Comcrap.
Anyway, if you are still using dialup, I’d strongly recommend high speed Internet access if you can get it, whether Cable or DSL.
In my experience, DSL is cheaper, but Cable is faster, but speed is only an issue if you’re an MMORPG playing dork like me. That may just be because we can only get slow DSL out here in the boonies.
I’ve had DSl for years, ADSL for years too. I also have WiFi in the neighborhood. I use AOL strickly for mail as so many people know to mail me there- and have done so for nearly twenty years!!
I, too, still use my AOhelL email addy, since that’s been in constant use since… ’95? ’96? Anyway…
It was a little hinky a couple times towards the end of last week, but it went away. I figured they were dicking with the servers.
You’ve had the same email address for 20 years. I hope AOL has a good spam filter…
Actually, one of the very best things about AOL is it’s spam handling and it’s filtration devices.
I tried AOL once when they were still sending targets,uhhh, CDs out in the mail. The only thing I liked was their “You’ve got mail!” announcement. What was more difficult was to stop them from charging me when I canceled the service. Lawyers got involved.
I’ve found it much easier to buy my own domain and use my person web and e-mail server that put up with any of the so-called ISPs on the internet.
It’s not all that hard. I think there are even some turn-key installations available.
It isn’t that hard. I have that already. I also have a round dozen Gmail and hotmail accounts. I like AOL because of all the features it offers. For free.
Hope it comes back around. I’d like to keep that email address.
My mom still has it – her address is a lifeline. I used AOL from around ’93 until ’03. It was very good for Usenet newsgroup-reading and posting but you would get a lot of flack from telenet old timers for having the address – “DirtCrashr” comes from that era on rec.motorcycles.dirt when I was doing a lot more riding…
“What was more difficult was to stop them from charging me when I canceled the service. Lawyers got involved.”
That was the easy part, just violate their ToS and they’d drop you like a slippery newborn. Went through three or four AOL ID’s before I switched to Prodigy, which never felt my behavior was bad enough to drop me.