I think your explaination may lie in this article:
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-230464.html?legacy=cnet
Us non-aol'ers don't see it through the AOL window.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Friday, January 17, 2003 10:56 PM
> Subject: Re: [S-Trains] AOL & Ebay???
>
>
> > Rick Evans wrote;
> >
> > >then it says,.."AOL presents----EBAY"....(the ebay logo).
> > >What the heck does that mean??
> >
> > Not sure what it means these days, but in the late '90s, when "Almost
> > On Line" was my isp, Aol made a deal with ebay to the tune of some
> > $12 million. Aol devised what came to be recognized as a scheme for
> > herding their customers to ebay, and a particularly insulting way of
> > informing said customers, especially those who frequented Aol's
> > many "communities" of interests, such as those discussing our beloved
> > hobby. For years, Aol members could post "for sale" messages in the
> > regular discussion groups. There was even a special group devoted
> > to "for sale" posts exclusively. Then, one day ('round about late
> > 1998 as I recall), folks' "for sale" messages were being deleted by
> > the "board monitors" that Aol unleashed on their unsuspecting
> > customers. At first, the reason given was that Aol was
> > receiving "complaints" about so many "for sale" messages. When Aol
> > began receiving humongous piles of real complaints from customers
> > angry about their posts being deleted, Aol explained that they were
> > trying to make the boards "more intuitive". What was so counter-
> > intuitive about "for sale" posts advertising trains in a discussion
> > board about trains? Aol could never give a coherent answer to that
> > question, at least not to me, a contributor to that afore-mentioned
> > pile of complaints. Most of us (Aol customers) on the boards
> > suspected an ulterior motive for the deletions, and as time wore on
> > it became painfully clear what the real motive was.
> >
> > You see, there was ONE type of "for sale" post which would suvive the
> > board monitors' delete key. You guessed it, any post including a link
> > to an ebay auction. Somehow, THAT made everything "intuitive", you
> > see. Aol's real intent was, of course, to "encourage" their customers
> > to use ebay instead of simply offering items for sale on the boards.
> >
> > I'm not so sure which was more aggravating, Aol's manipulation, or
> > their expectation that nobody would see through them. In any
> > case :^), it cost them this customer.
> >
> > As for ebay, yes I've used it, with mixed results. It isn't
> > necessarily the seller's paradise that some think it is. I auctioned
> > a like-new AF Southern Railway set a couple years ago that should've
> > brought me $300 minimum. Got only $225 for it (much less than I
> > paid), minus ebay charges. Oh well, the buyer bought it to replace a
> > set he lost in a fire, so I don't begrudge him the deal.
> >
> >
> > Chuck F.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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>
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