Re:AOL

[elendil @ mintir . new-orleans . la . us (Edward J. Branley)]

rex!hamp.hampshire.edu!mpmNS (Michelle Murrain) writes:

> Also, AOLs interface is so glossy, and nice, that it is never clear where
> AOL ends and the internet begins. So this encourages AOL users to treat the
> net like they treat AOL.

This is yet another problem I have with the aol.com domain.  I've had several
aol users get downright abusive when they don't get instant gratification on
whatever request it is they're making.  As I mentioned earlier, I had a woman
threaten me with legal action because I wasn't moving fast enough.  When I had
a similar problem with a university student, I forwarded the rude message to
the sysadmin of the school.  I got back an apology from the sysadmin, along
with assurances that the person would be "talked to."

Of course, the typical university has more experience with the sort of
retaliatory strikes that such an incident can cause, such as mail- and
ftp-bombing.  The last thing they need is to hear from the membership at-large
of a mailing list about the actions of one of their students.  It appears that
AOL is not so interested in these complaints, as they go to some bit bucket or
another.

>
> We are going to have to eventually deal in some way with this clash of
> cultures. Although I don't expect the majority of AOL or Prodigy users to
> use the internet with the same kind of abandon college students do, and
> luckily the front edges of the net change so fast that it takes time for
> AOL and Prodigy to catch up, and users who really want to surf go to other
> providers, there still is the potential for some serious conflict.
>

Agreed.  The serious net-user will quickly outgrow the commercial services,
particularly if they can find a full-service 'net provider for <$50/month
locally.  If CompuServe or Prodigy ever decide to challenge AOL in terms of
price, AOL could be in for serious trouble.  I've had nothing but good
experiences in dealing with CIS sysadmins on technical problems, and have had
absolutely no problems with users.  They have the advantage of being in the
position of learning from AOL's mistakes.

Cheers,
Ed.


 |Edward J. Branley                   elendil@mintir.new-orleans.la.us|
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