Why AOL considered so bad?

[DJMK4]

Well I am using AOL right now, had problems in the past with there customer service being rubbish. But when it works it works, get my email via there web client, never had issue logging into forums, or had any slow downs (not that you can tell with only 512k). I think that there an ok isp and great for n00bs and first time users but it sucks when your a pc geek and you know when you pc is turned on.

But for the majority of people out there can't even find the power lights on there modems let alone understand the concepts of drivers etc.

I think there higher products and their ADSL Max connection is highly un-stable.

Oh well, maybe all the people who have just migrated will free up the network for the remaining users.

I just didnt want to be with them as the connection was poor, speeds were poor, their UK Tech support has closed down, and the company is being taken over by an even worse one.

 

[Al Vallario]

obviously its just the trend to slate em, im not saying AOL is the greatest just never had any complaints so cant understand why you see people slating them in threads for anything they think is bad

AOL used to be the laughing stock of the Internet around the time of the dot-com boom for a number of reasons. Firstly, they heavily marketed their services, throwing installation and trial CDs all over the place (leading to the jokes about them being used as coasters and such). People who signed up for a trial then decided not to keep the service would be hammered with CDs for each subsequent software release, they would be on the front of every magazine in sight etc. They are notorious for having billing and account issues, and (although this may have more to do with their US operation, which is completely separate from the UK arm – especially now the UK arm of the business has been sold to Carphone Warehouse) people were known for having issues attempting to cancel their subscriptions; screaming "I want to cancel my account. I want to cancel my account. I want to cancel my account" over the phone is now the de facto method.

Then there were the terrible routing issues they used to have, which made them completely useless for gaming use (even with their broadband products, in the early days). And the stereotypes that went with being an AOL subscriber – the heavy marketing and large userbase made them the choice of "n00bs," and as someone already stated, AOL users would constantly get abuse from the more "l33t" Internet users. And the software, oh the software! It used to be obligatory for you to use the software (even with the broadband services), which was bloated, incredibly tricky to install and generally a pain in the rear when it went wrong (which was very often) – even with "always on" broadband services users had to open the resource-hungry client and tap in their details before they were connected, which caused a whole new realm of issues when it comes to gaming.

That's just a taster – I haven't even gone into the TimeWarner merger and their policies with regards to email blocking and such. Obviously they're a lot better now – although this may be short-lived with the Carphone Warehouse takeover – but cleansing all the negative connotations and stereotypes associated with a brand name will never be an easy task...

*av

 

[aceface57]

I think there higher products and their ADSL Max connection is highly un-stable.

I would have to disagree with you on this one. I migrated from eclipse to aol max and so far this has been the only isp to provide me with a true 8meg service. So far i haven't had any problems what so ever.

I think that there an ok isp and great for n00bs and first time users but it sucks when your a pc geek and you know when you pc is turned on.

Why does aol suck if you are a pc geek? I thought the service would be a better one? My reasoning for this is, you are more likely to know how to get around not using their horrible software, by means of a router or setting up the connection with a modem. Although i do understand about the email blocking which can be a pain.

 

[MAllen]

Mmmm.... as a PC support engineer I love AOL and their users. It makes me money.

Average AOL user is a noob, as mentioned above. The icon is sitting their on the new PC they just bought as a "bargain" from the local purple shirts.

So nasty, low spec PC. With something nasty like Symantec's NIS installed. Combined with AOL bloatware installation. I just laugh. This combination tends to add two hours to my jobs just in the time it takes to fix problems / uninstall / reinstall / etc.


On the positive side... their unlimited packages do tend to suck in a lot of the heavy downloaders and those who don't install AV software, so that keeps them off of my ISP. At least we know where they are this way....

(I once connected a freshly reinstalled but unprotected PC to their new users corner. This PC had XP, Norton and AOL software. I then connected it to recover the AOL account and update Norton and then XP.... it took the PC only 40 seconds to get infected on this network..... )

 

[CurlyWhirly]

they're having problems, they're loosing customers

I was one of them after over 5 years with them (they were my first and only ISP).

I left because they wouldn't put me on to Max as they insisted that I wouldn't benefit from the increased speed as my line was too long and here I am on a 3 Mb connection

I found the connection to be stable with no throttling but I don't know if that will change when Carphone Warehouse takes over?

I found that their customer service was rubbish and on the few times that I needed technical advice, I either sorted the problem myself or asked on an online forum!

I also had a job getting my MAC code (despite being out of contract) and in the end I had to say that I was going to report them to OFCOM as I pointed out that AOL have signed up to OFCOM's voluntary code.