JR - Thank you for putting the nightmare as a seller trying to deal with
AOL users so succinctly. Last week it took 8 emails to one buyer of a
$10 item to actually get an invoice through to them.
I have now sent three emails in the last week to Freeman Fisher and had
no reply to direct questions. I get along really well with Freeman, and
often we send emails back and forth, but as an AOL user I have no idea
whether he received the last three, whether he's not replying, has a
cold and is in bed with the flu, or dropped off his friggin' perch!
People who use AOL and only talk to other AOL users is great. I'm really
happy for you. AOL is happy for you. Why else do you think they
consistently block mail from other ISPs? So more people will sign up
with AOL.
This is, in their minds, smart marketing. If you know people (as we do)
who actually own and run ISP services, this sort of behaviour by majors
like AOL is not uncommon. However most of them have ceased this blocking
because it was losing them more business than gaining it. AOL appears to
be blocking free speech from what I can see by continuing this
"marketing strategy".
For the rest of us who prefer not to use their discriminating services,
it's not good enough really. When I get a half dozen emails from a buyer
who is on AOL asking how much to pay, and I've sent them a half dozen
emails that they haven't got.... well, I make no excuse for being angry,
frustrated and... well... vicious when it come to talking about AOL.
Phil
..James Schumaker wrote:
Well, Scott has set me up with a temporary
subscription while they try to figure out what the
Hurricane did to my DSL. The auction site continues to
run fine, as it always has, because its server is in
Kansas, not the Banana Republic of Floridia.
I made some comments on the AOL issue earlier which
may have made it to the individuals, but not to the
list. So let me just respond to Henry's recent post:
People are down on AOL because when they try to send
messages to people with AOL addresses, they don't get
through half the time. This is a serious problem that
has been going on for a long time now and it is a very
real pain for a lot of people -- particularly sellers.
Henry, you're a seller. Your messages get through to
AOL members because your address ends in .AOL -- but
what if you didn't have an AOL address? What if, as a
seller, you had to hassle endless hours trying to get
through to people with AOL addresses who had won
auction items from you? How would you feel about those
people continuing to use AOL? What if some of those
AOL users left negative feedback for you on eBay,
claiming you never contacted them about completing a
transaction(even though you'd been trying for weeks)?
The simple fact is that AOL creates uncessary problems
for its users that other ISPs don't -- and even worse,
it transfers those problems to a whole lot of other
people who are not AOL users, but who have to
interface with AOL users. That's why so much justified
resentment has built up towards AOL. That's why the
"viscious" reaction when people start venting about
AOL.
Personally, I've had to hassle with this issue a lot
while running MoviePosterBid.com -- I'm always getting
a seller who is asking me for help trying to invoice
an AOL user. Or from bidders who have won an auction
and are trying to get through to the seller using an
AOL address. Or from bidders who have an AOL address
and are convinced the seller is trying to stiff them
on the item they've won (while at the same time the
seller is convinced they are ignoring his invoices!).
It's ridiculous.
Often by the time these people come to me for help,
they are irritated if not downright mad because they
think they are being deliberately snubbed by the other
party, when its just a case of AOL not delivering
messages... or a message is delivered one day, but the
reply to it the next day never gets through... or
simply that important messages are being shuffled into
a junk folder without the user's knowledge. I have
wasted more time and energy dealing with AOL-caused
problems than any other issue on the internet by far.
If the only reason you're staying with AOL is because
you don't want to hassle changing your email address,
that's your choice. But it means people trying to
reach you at that address will have to go on having
unnecessary problems trying to communicate with you at
that address. It seems you have chosen not to use AOL
for communications services for ThePosterMint.com,
which I think is very wise.
But you can't blame "other people" for being
incredibly frustrated and pissed off at AOL -- they're
not being mean or unreasonable. They're just fed up
with being forced to hassle year after year with
continuing AOL-specific problems.
Please note that no one ever says anything bad about
any other ISP -- just AOL. That's no accident. And it
isn't cavalier.
--JR
----- Original Message -----
From: Henry Mazel
To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2005 4:44
Subject: [MOPO] AOL attacks
I'm surprised at the viciousness of the attacks on
AOL. Yes, they suck, but it totally simplistic to tell
us to change ISPs. It's an inane suggestion. My main
ISP is Roadrunner broadband, and I piggyback AOL for
the e-mail addresses, which I've owned for 10 years.
I'm known to everyone, both personal and business
contacts, as well as Paypal and dozens of other such
forums by my AOL address. I wouldn't know where to
begin if I change my AOL addresses. As Sam Goldwyn
said, "In two words,
im possible."
I do use Eudora as well, but for my PosterMint.com
business.
So it pissees me off that some MOPOers are so cavalier
about this issue, and some even seem to gloat. I don't
usually get involved in the occasional internecine
disputes on MOPO, but this one just tears it for me.
Henry
The Poster Mint
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