AOL is disgusting

[malatesta1137]

Right now if you sign on, your main screen has the picture of a man with a punk haircut and a handkerchief over his mouth, looking like a bank robber. The headline: THEIR TARGET: REPUBLICANS. They are equating protesters to anarchists. What a corrupt Internet provider, trying to silent dissent. Utterly abominable.

[smirkymonkey]

1. AOL - Assholes Online

[Paradise]

4. oh, "ASSHOLES ONLINE" is great, too! n/t

[wolfgirl]

5. AOL-

a**holes on line, love the mental imagery!:silly:

[Paradise]

2. "AOL IS DISGUSTING!" couldn't have said it better. n/t

[DebJ]

3. AOHell.

I got rid of AOL as soon as I could get cable access. The last time I had it was 7 years ago or so. The little 'you've got mail' thing drove me nuts, because it was almost always 'you've got porn'.

I hated it.

[necso]

6. Just another sign that

the media is colluding with the neos, to set an expectation of violence -- even to incite violence -- and then to put the most negative possible spin on it -- that the Dems are nothing more than wild-eyed anarchists.

BTW, covering your face is considered a provocation by the authorities -- and a sign that you are up to no good!

[devinsgram]

7. Got rid of AOL and I am so happy.

[MODemocrat]

26. I want to dump AOL, but won't I lose all my important data?

Hope someone tells me how I can do it, because I'm getting so sick of their political leanings. It doesn't make me happy to be dealing with any right winger, in any capacity.:shrug: :dem:

[Stephanie]

29. What are you afraid of losing? Your Favorites?

Your e-mail addresses? Those can be exported and saved. Get someone to help you do it. Or post in the Lounge and somebody will talk you through it.

[MODemocrat]

40. Thanks for reply Stephanie

Yes, I've put memorials to my loved ones in word pad, and tributes to many friends, plus some legal work, and I'm not proficient enough to know what to do and not lose these things. I have a Grandson who might be able to help me with that. If not, I'll be getting back to DU for help; you're always there and willing to help.
AOL charges that $5.00 fee for the automatic withdrawl from my
checking account; and that plus the $23.95 monthly makes it quite
expensive for me. I do enjoy having the unlimited time deal, but I'm very tired of their pro-Bush, pro-everything republican opening page.
The one that really angered me was: "Is John Edwards fit for the job of Vice President." Maybe it was a play on words, but it ate at me to think of the difference in him and that crook and ugly Dick Cheney.
Talk about someone who's NOT fit, it is Cheney. Then yesterday, they wanted a vote on who was telling the truth about John Kerry's military career. Yipes! that's enough to want me to dump AOL.

:thumbsup: :dem: :)

[Stephanie]

45. Put in an emergency call to your grandson

AOL does not deserve your money, and they are taking way too much of it. That is an outrageous price. $5 fee for the automatic withdrawal???? There should be no charge for that!

Those wordpad files should not be affected by your switching internet service providers. Those files are saved onto your own computer, not your AOL account, I'm quite sure. At any rate whatever information you have stored in your AOL account can be copied and saved elsewhere. Tell that grandson to hurry on over to your house and put him to work!

[MODemocrat]

66. Thanks again Stephanie

Thanks for your advice, and I'll be heeding it. I'll be seeing my grandson tomorrow (Sunday) at our family dinner. He can probably get me through it. Yes, that $28.95 monthly is excessive, when I'm not on line that much. After you told me about Word Pad being "intact", it dawned on me that, in fact, AOL would not be connected to it, so thanks again for your support.
:thumbsup: :hug:

[miss_kitty]

61. and at the risk of rerepeating myself

go with mozilla or their 'firefox'. i am still using aol, i am close to dumping it, now i am more used to mozilla and firefox, ....it's freeware from mozilla,org
enjoy! :-)

[Hippo_Tron]

8. Whenever somebody asks me for internet help, the first thing I ask is...

Do you have AOL? If the answer is yes, I then tell them that I will not help them until they get rid of it.

[HawkerHurricane]

9. Sounds familiar.

I had AOL for years (just got rid of it)... I asked someone for help, he asked 'what's your server', I said 'AoL', and he said "There's the problem right there."

[raysr]

10. As soon

as you learn your way around on a computer the first thing you do is dump AOL! Dial up is at least $10 a month cheaper and doesn't use all that disk space. I use ISPWest.com, $13.95 per month. I've tried all of them and I like this one best.

[enigmatic]

76. In 2004 there's zero reason for anyone to have AOL..

There are national and local ISP's that are eons better then AOL, and cheaper, too. AOL is beyond horrible..

[B Calm]

11. Hard to find AOL number to cancel them!

To Cancel NetZero call 1-866-841-1442
To Cancel Juno call 1-888-839-5866
To Cancel BlueLight call 1-800-522-0839
To Cancel People PC call 1-866-772-6277
To Cancel Earthlink call 1-800-890-5128
To Cancel AOL call 1-888-265-8008
or Fax [phone] (include your full name, phone number, address, screenname, and the last four digits of the credit card charged by AOL)
To Cancel AT&T Worldnet call 1-800-400-1447
To Cancel CompuServe call 1-800-848-8990
To Cancel MSN call 1-800-386-5550
To Cancel Prodigy call 1-800-213-0992

[Javaman]

12. AOL is for repubs...

Requires no thought to get ripped off. :)

[genius]

13. Look more closely. They got it from the New York Times.

These creeps should all be put in jail for suppressing democracy. They figure that if protesters get killed, they'll just say it was anarchists and "who cares."

[LiberalPersona]

14. Good thing

I was cured of AOL many years ago. That was the darkest time of my Internet life. How anyone could use that god awful service instead of a real ISP is beyond my understanding.

[JudgeSmales]

15. Flame bait but who cares

I am not a re pug but do use AOL. Convenience reasons. I never thought about whether or not they are politically affiliated. I have seen that picture but didn't think anything of it. I read it and it is indeed about self proclaimed anarchists that have protested quite a few other venues as well as the NRC. They are there. No getting around that. It appears as though they are there in large numbers. And they do have a history of violence, vandalism, as well as obstructing traffic.

I am all for a protest but I do not support violence. If the police have to be on sight to keep things from getting out of hand then I am all for it.


http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/elections/article.adp?id=20040820113609990016




Incidentally I have seen some very good articles written about Kerry in a positive way on AOL. And I have seen negative articles about Bush. Some I am unsure if I can go along with the popular consensus on this thread. Please go easy on me.

[malatesta1137]

16. I'll go easy on you

AOL is a rabidly pro-Bush and I keep it solely because of my business. I've been a customer for 7 years and I read their articles, message-boards and, mainly, their headlines. And they know most people don't read articles, they read headlines. So they have this possibly genuine article about anarchists, but the headline is what's purposely misleading. It makes ALL TYPES of protesters look like pro-violence anarchists.

[JudgeSmales]

17. Ok....

But there is a large group of anarchists protesting. No getting around that. I am interested to see who is protesting and with that group on the scene there is a chance of violence. I think it is news worthy.

[Skittles]

25. you abhor violence?

what do you think about an unelected piece of SHIT "president" invading and bombing a country that never threatened us?

[jdj]

34. Score. A direct hit. n/t

[JudgeSmales]

43. Are you a cheerleader?

Or just another armchair quarterback?

[Vickers]

55. Welcome to DU

Enjoy your stay.

[JudgeSmales]

68. Thank you. Thankyou very much.

I love this site.

[JudgeSmales]

42. I thought we were talking about possible riots as indicated by AOL....

Not the President? That tactic is a lot like having a debate with my irrational girlfriend. She changes the subject mid-stride and attempts argue over something else. Don't be that girl.Your better than that.

[Stephanie]

46. She "attempts argue" - "Your better than that." - good grief!

I bet your "irrational girlfriend" has a better grasp of the language, at least. Perhaps she just speaks too quickly for you to keep up. Must be very frustrating for you. Maybe you should find someone more on your level.

[JudgeSmales]

47. No actually

she can be a bitch sometimes. She admits it freely. You don't know her so your opinion of her is irrelevant. Thanks anyway though. As for my language comprehension I may not type up to your standards but I can keep up. To compare the two is petty. You are just pissed because of what I said about a fellow female and not because of my written post. I think I already covered that tactic. Please move forward. Thank you for your cooperation.

[Stephanie]

48. Don't tell me what to do.

Don't tell me how I feel or why.

Don't post on this board if you don't want to hear other opinions in response.

Don't call a woman "bitch" on this board, it is against the rules.

Don't expect any cooperation from me.

I will not sit down. I will not shut up. - C. McKinney

[JudgeSmales]

49. Sorry.

Don't get so upset.




Woops

[JudgeSmales]

51. Don't tell me what not to not to do..

My girlfriend doesn't like you. She said you were a .....nevermind

[Stephanie]

54. "what not to not to do.." ?

If there is really any such girlfriend, please have her proof your posts. And if you want to call me names, just come right out and say it. It will hasten your demise.

[Name removed]

57. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JudgeSmales]

59. Oh the contradiction

I called you sweetness in the same post that I declared never to have called you names.


I must be a Bastard for calling a feminist sweetness.




Sugar britches don't tell me how to refer to my girlfriend and I promise never to open the door for you. Thank you for your cooperation.

[Vickers]

62. Dude...your "girlfriend" ain't taking care of you, is she?

Better throw on some Rick James (RIP!!!!!) and get jiggy with her pronto, cuz yer too uptight to be gettin' it regular.

Hope this helps.

[Name removed]

67. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Vickers]

69. Ahhh, the tiger shows his stripes.

:hi:

[JudgeSmales]

70. RRRRRight

Whatever you say. I was attacked for speaking out in favor of AOL. Nothing more. I responded. If you feel you have to tell mom and dad then do it. My history of posts speaks for me. Thank you.

[Vickers]

71. Hey, you go throw down with your girl yet?

Hey, get her on here. That would be cool!

[JudgeSmales]

72. I may....

If she acts right I may give her a smales special. On my boat the Flying Wasp. Right after the Christening.

[Vickers]

73. Watch out for Seafood, bro!

:spank:

[JudgeSmales]

74. Skeet Skeet

[JudgeSmales]

18. I swear ..

I have seen pro Kerry news articles on AOL. If you ask me to go find them I am going to p1ss and moan because I am on my 5th glass of wine. But it is your right.

[TryingToWarnYou]

20. Why do you need it for your business?

Any dial up will do. Heck for a couple of dollars more a month, you could go DSL most likely.

Dump their bloated software and their GOP hugging BS and free yourself.

[JudgeSmales]

21. My computer is very slow.

This is true. I could do without all of the frills and colorful cartoons.

[TryingToWarnYou]

27. AOL is bloatware...

All you need is a dial up configuration and an ISP.

[JudgeSmales]

44. I had no idea...

is there a free ISP?

[TryingToWarnYou]

77. No, but what you pay for AOL, you can pay for acess to the internet

through a dial up provider. You dont NEED AOL and their proprietary software. Same goes for MSN, Earthlink and the others.

[malatesta1137]

30. I have dsl

but I have to keep AOL because of the email address and all the saved correspondence I have from customers of the last 7 years.

[TryingToWarnYou]

39. Naw... a bit of work on your part and you can be free...

Seriously.. copy over your address book and notify your customers that you are switching providers (actually, do this after) and provide them with the new address. Include an incentive for them like a discount, coupon etc. (if you can afford it). Afterwards, about a week later, email them again with a friendly reminder.

Friends dont let friends use AOL.

[AngryOldDem]

63. Wish I Could Get Rid of It

...but since I don't pay for it, I have to put up with it. (I've been promised, though, that the situation will change.)

>>>AOL is a rabidly pro-Bush>>>

Which to me makes their election coverage just about useless. Back when I was stupid, I started checking in with their monthly interactive electoral vote poll. I thought it would be a quick way to keep on top of things, just for my information. And it was pretty accurate up until about two weeks ago, when I clicked on the poll and almost every state was marked red for Bush. Even those that are still statistically toss-ups. What a joke.

I do, however, read the message boards for pure entertainment value. Just two seconds on any board alone gives you a pretty fair idea what the majority of its clientele is, and just what passes for informed thought "out there."

[leesa]

60. Right. Booga...booga!

[bluestateguy]

19. That's why I'm letting my AOL account lapse

I really only use it for music anyway, which I can get by just buying digital cable.

[GoneOffShore]

28. Shameless plug

for Apple's iTunes music store!
I just started using it. And it's more fun than a little bit. And, they've got one free song a week. Plus, I downloaded Kerry and Obama's speeches for free. And you can download the 9/11 Commission report for free as well.

[linazelle]

41. Good luck dropping AOL, they will keep billing you

I had to drop them three times--each requiring lengthy, hour long phone calls to trace my usage and reconcile billing. Just when you think you're done with them, expect another bill.

[Tight_rope]

22. AOHell are crooks!....READ This

You would think that 3 years of stealing my money was enough. I had to close my account to get rid of these assholes.

This from ComsumerAffair.com

Nothing is easier than signing up for AOL. Conversely, nothing is more difficult than getting rid of AOL once you have it, as the complainants in this section will tell you.

In fact, AOL has been so good at sticking it to customers who desperately want to be non-customers that it has perfected a couple of new tricks -- billing consumers who sign up for the supposed free trial as well as simply adding charges to the phone bills of poor souls who aren't now and never have been customers. Oh, and then there's the double-billing that's been good for so many laughs around the AOL espresso bar.

AOL - Unauthorized Charges
Phyllis of Tuttle OK (9/24/03):
AOL put an unauthorized internet access charges on my phone bill. I called and explained that I used OEC and do not use AOL at all for a provider. The woman looked up my account and agreed there was no activity and said she will credit the account and close it out. Next month I get another bill on my phone bill and the previous charges that they did not credit.

I called again and got a rude rude man who said I did not have any credit due and I should be finding out who is in my house using my internet even though he also agreed there was no activity. I told him I did not authorize the charges and wanted them removed and not to send me another bill. He continued to interrupt me and say rude things and I finally had to hang up on him. Needless to say nothing was resolved.

AOL is billing me 28.90 per month for nothing. This should not be legal for them to do this to people. I don't know what else to do and I don't know how to keep it from happening. Do we not have any rights anymore that companies can bill you and then make you the bad guy for wanted them to take it off?

Linda of Mobile AL (9/24/03):
My son tried AOL on a trial basis for 90 days. It was on our phone bill. He canceled it. I canceled it. I was even told they could tell the account had not been activated. Been going on over a year. Now I am getting sued. AOL says talk to BellSouth, BellSouth says talk to AOL. It is crazy. AOL canceled the account for non payment and continued to bill me.

Jeff of Conroe TX (9/18/03):
I recently looked at the pages of my Verizon phone bill and say a $28.90 charge for AOL. I do not have their service and never have. Also, I m being charged on a phone number that I no longer have. When I call them they say they have no record of an account in my name, even though I faxed them a copy of 2 months worth of phone bills!!

I am in the process of filling complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, the Better Business Bureau and any other place I can. I've had 6 different conversations with them and after the last one they said they needed Verizon to contact them because I can't be being billed because they have no record of me.

So far they have charged me for $204.00 for a service I did not ask for, or authorize in any way.

Paul of Fresno CA (9/15/03):
Took $14.95 out of my checking account. I don't even have an account with AOL. Called to get a refund and they said they couldn't because they had no record of my account. Called on August 27, 2003, talked to 5 people and 4 hours later I got hung up on by Clark W. I'll never get my money back. But if they took it from my account they could do it to others.
More---------->http://www.consumeraffairs.com/internet/aol_unauthorize ...

[brava]

23. AOL charges 28.90??????

My ISP charges $5.99 a month for dialup. I've used it for 4 years and never, ever had any problems. It's so simple, quick and easy.

Check out www.access4less.net

[jdj]

35. It means they are pressuring the hell out of their reps.

When they sign folks up for shit they don't order it's called "slamming", but I didn't know they did this with internet access too. All CSR's have to meet sales quotas now, it's not like it was in the 60's when my aunts worked for the phone company, they were operators. Now its either sell or hit the door, even my brother, who is a tech with alltel, has to sell when he does service.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

24. Why don't you cancel and sign up with someone else?

[autorank]

31. Another reason they suck!

One of their news headlines says something like 'Who is telling the Truth about Kerry's War Record.' Brilliant, huh. In the midst of proof that the Swifties lie, they act like it's an open question.

I've subscribed to these morons for years and years. Anyone recommend an alternate provider? I'm quitting.

[EST]

36. Type "internet service providers"

into your search window. Start there

[Ediacara]

32. That guy in the photo

I am pretty sure is my buddy Justin. I will try to get in touch with him about it.

[Nordic]

33. then why the hell are you using them?

Good grief, you can actually do something about this. Switch to something else for crying out loud.

[DavidFL]

37. If you're on dial up and have 9.0...

you can right click on the AOL tray icon and there's an option that says something like 'Start AOL Dialer'. Click that and it launches a dialer that just connects your computer without having to start up the whole program or wait for the content to load. It's helpful when you're stuck with AOL and have an older or slow computer.

[DU GrovelBot]

38. ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

==================
GROVELBOT.EXE v3.0
==================



This week is our third quarter 2004 fund drive. Democratic
Underground is a completely independent website. We depend almost entirely
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your support.

[West Coast Democrat]

50. Are there actually people who didn't realize AOL sucks...

until today? Where have you guys been?

[RodneyCK2]

52. AOL Hell... I posted on another AOL related thread that...

there are so many other choices out there, not to mention the fact the Saudi prince now owns $2.05 billion worth of AOL stock. AOL/Time-Warner controlls CNN. The prince also owns $50 million worth of Disney. See where this is going?

Change providers..

[PROGRESSIVE1]

53. If I had it my way, AOL would be SHUT DOWN!

[0007]

56. 'Tis worse than disgusting.

I also hate Yahoo, and MSN.

[happynewyear]

58. I need AOL help! help! help!

Damn them! My brother passed away at a very young age and he had AOL as his ISP. My relatives are trying to access his AOL account but they don't know what his password was. So, they can't access it! They've called AOL and they gave them this big "privacy" crap as if they give a damn!

If you install AOL on your computer it writes onto a chip in your computer that you can NEVER get rid of! The fuckers!

AOL sucks - I've known this for a long time.

Looking for a cheap option? Try NetZero!

P.S. Any advice on how my in-laws can access his account are GREATLY appreciated! :grr: :grr: :grr:

:dem: :kick:

[RebelOne]

64. Well, I don't know, it's not on my main screen.

And I wish everyone would stop bashing AOL. I am quite happy with their service.

[RodneyCK2]

75. It is not the service that is an issue. It is their politics...

censorship to their stock holders. Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...wrong answer.

[jus_the_facts]

78. and the politics of most ALL corporations goes against progressive ideals.

....you'd have to boycott EVERYTHING and suffer a horrid death as a result. :eyes:

I don't want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed... or buy anything sold or processed... or process anything sold, bought or processed... or repair anything sold, bought or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that."

-- Lloyd Dobler -aka John Cusack- From the movie Say Anything :D

[malatesta1137]

79. I agree

Just canceling the service is an easy way out. We must stay and help change AOL, or at least voice our dissent on their disgusting message boards or outside AOL, like on DU. I only pay $9.95 a month for Broadband, because when they were about to charge me $14.95 a month I called to cancel, that's the only time they bargain with you, when they know you're serious about dumping them.

[miss_kitty]

65. YOU CAN GET RID OF THE WINDOW. THANKS TO MY INCESSANT BITCHING TO

Assholes on line, it has been made possible, with the latest update of 9.0.

After signon, x the window.

go to the window button on the very top, same line as file edit etc.

click 'remember window size'.

that should work. 'remember window size' might be inactive and 'forget window size' should be active. mine shows up as a minimised button in the lower left hand corner of the screen whenever i sign on. if it doesn't call them and make them tell you how.

enjoy!