Chuq Von Rospach <chuqui@plaidworks.com> writes:
> At 6:12 AM -0800 1/30/97, Brad Knowles wrote:
> > It's just the nature of the beast of large
> >communities -- we don't have any more than our share of clueless
> >customers (not much, anyway ;-), it's just that because we've got
> >eight million customers, we've got a lot more total clueless people
> >than other places.
>
> Hate to say it, Brad, but as someone who's defended AOL in the past, I
> have to now say -- I don't think so.
I think a good reference point to identify anyone is how they come
to be where they are. It works in parenting, politics, and `Hey,
dood, where you comin' from?'
Setting up a PPP account with most any other ISP is vastly different
than a simple dial-in you access because you picked up a glossy mag
at the newstand and a disk inviting you to follow the easy clicks
to Internet nirvana dropped on your shoes. When I first took up
the other accounts I have used, I had to go over docs just to
connect, and continue to read in order to stay aboard, and read
more to make the various parts work together.
It's precisely the problem in education - to raise self-esteem,
many are given the point-and-click option, yet when they arrive
where they are supposed to perform, they are lost. You can't
sell a product based strictly on glitzy ease-of-use and expect
to produce qualified engineers.
That said, let me also declare right here that I have seen some
avid, engaged feedback from support at AOL backstage, both
from the individuals who compile and keep current Mailing List
data and on the occasions when some garbage spews forth from
their vast army of unwashed users. They ain't ogres at AOL,
it's just that they're caught in this vast chain of events
partly caused by themselves, much like the New York Jets.
---
mailto:tcbowden@clovis.nerdnosh.org (Tim Bowden)
Proud member of NERDNOSH (tm)!
mailto:info@clovis.nerdnosh.org
http://www.corcom.com/reloj/Nerdnosh.html
References:
|
|
