Holy holy holy holy crap! *ding*
OMG. I just started AOL and look what I got. It's called AOL RED, and it's supposed to make both young teen, and mature teen (what I have) "better", but it seriously looks like crap. I used to like AOL, but since there's no way to get rid of it, i think I'll just stick with AIM (No, I can't have iChat 
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Comments
(And you know the worst part? It's impossible to turn off unless you get a General screenname [Kids have KOL, which is probably just as bad])
And they're the same bunch of idiots that think all black people wear baggy clothes and listen only to hip-hop and R&B and have rhythm, so every commercial featuring a black family or couple has to have a funk soundtrack to it and SOMEBODY dancing in the background or saying "yo".
But no one ever calls them on it, do they?
Me: Hi, I want to cancel my subscription with AOL
AOL: Okay, can I ask what issues you have with our service?
Me: It sucks. Dropped connections, way too slow, lack of compatibility with websites, costs way too much, more problems than it's worth.
AOL: Okay, I'm sorry that you have experienced these problems, anything we can do to fix them for you.
Me: Yes, let me cancel my account so I don't have to use AOL anymore.
AOL: Okay, I will do that for you. But why do you feel you need to cancel your account with us? We are constantly improving our service.
Me: No your not. It has been bad since the day I got it, but for some reason I put up with it. I already gave you the reasons, and I'm getting broadband.
AOL: Well, how would you like to open an AOL for broadband account, or just keep your dial-up account so you can use it when you don't want to use your broadband account. (Yes, she really did say that...word for word.)
Long story short, we went on like this for about 10 min before she finally "canceled" my account. Come to find out, the account never got canceled and I was billed for three months of service on my next credit card statement. (Thats right, three months of service on one bill) So I called to complain that they didn't cancel my account and that I had been billed for service that I hadn't used. It took me about an hour and a half of my life and talking to 12 different people before I finally go a refund. And you'll never guess what...each of the 12 people that I talked to tried to get me to re open my account with AOL.
I will never ever use AOL or anything related to it again. Broadband is the best thing that has ever happened to my computer.
Originally posted by pscates
I love how marketers think all teens act and look this way, or dig this stuff. Or that all old people are sitting around, worrying about prescriptions and bladder control.
And they're the same bunch of idiots that think all black people wear baggy clothes and listen only to hip-hop and R&B and have rhythm, so every commercial featuring a black family or couple has to have a funk soundtrack to it and SOMEBODY dancing in the background or saying "yo".
But no one ever calls them on it, do they?
If you watch Canadian tv, you'll see a commercial from Zellers (a discount chain) where 2 white guys speak ebonics. A mom is trying to buy video games for her very white ebonic speaking son. The sales clerk replies in turn. That is the worst commercial ever! As an person who's worked in advertising, the marketeer should be shot! Zellers tries too hard pandering to young people with this crap. Zellers' image is so bland its creepy. They don't have a clue.
If people remember, Apple gave AOL a *ton* of money to get eWorld up and running for them. In fact, it was using that investment that AOL got to be where they are today, and all Apple got was an eWorld service that was blocked from using many of the AOL features and was intentionally crippled.
I stuck around with AOL until they made two mistakes that made me cancel my subscription. First, they moved to the monthly fee for service (instead of the hourly fee), and no one could connect to their service at all, it was always busy. Second, within 2 weeks of switching to their monthly fee, they got rid of our 2 local numbers.
I remember when I called to cancel my subscription, that they were very surprised. They said that they were only set up to open new accounts, not close existing ones. After waiting for quite a long time, I finally got through to someone who was completely stunned that we wanted to cancel our service. After telling them why, including that we no longer had local numbers, they still didn't want to take 'no' for an answer. They started sending us renewal notices, tons of AOL CDs, and just didn't seem to get it for some reason.
Whenever people tell me they want to use AOL or are using AOL, I try and steer them towards a different service, or DSL / Broadband.
Originally posted by Fran441
I remember when I called to cancel my subscription
For a time, AOL had an electronic method to cancel membership. I think all you had to do was type Keyword: cancel to bring up the right section.
Also, whenever I cancelled later trial memberships, I always faxed in my cancel request in order avoid talking to a phone rep at all costs.
Originally posted by Fran441
I remember when I called to cancel my subscription, that they were very surprised. They said that they were only set up to open new accounts, not close existing ones. After waiting for quite a long time, I finally got through to someone who was completely stunned that we wanted to cancel our service. After telling them why, including that we no longer had local numbers, they still didn't want to take 'no' for an answer. They started sending us renewal notices, tons of AOL CDs, and just didn't seem to get it for some reason.
Same here. They seemed shocked and unprepared when I called (read my earlier post). To this day we get a huge amount of AOL CDs, mailings, ads, even phone calls reminding us that (you canceled your service with AOL 5 months ago, are you sure you made the right choice?) and everything else...you name it. I'm to the point where I'm going to call/e mail and tell them to stop.
Whenever people tell me they want to use AOL or are using AOL, I try and steer them towards a different service, or DSL / Broadband.
Same here, I never want to see another person have to deal with the same crap I did. Not worth it for such a crappy service.
Edit: Format error.
Originally posted by Fran441
If people remember, Apple gave AOL a *ton* of money to get eWorld up and running for them. In fact, it was using that investment that AOL got to be where they are today, and all Apple got was an eWorld service that was blocked from using many of the AOL features and was intentionally crippled.
According to Apple Confidential, AOL (then Quantum) had partnered with Apple to develop eWorld. Apple later split from AOL/Quantum, and AOL/Quantum got enough code from the partnership to start AOL.
Barto
Dear PSgamer0921,
There have been a lot of questions regarding the RED(TM) experience the new service for teens. Why did we launch a new service, who changed it and what's it all about?
First why did we change the service?
AOL is always investing to bring you the best possible online experience. We knew from reading the message boards and talking to our members that you wanted a change. We decided we would carry out research all over the US and ask you what you wanted from an online service. The answer was "control". We asked our teen members nationwide, (much, much more than average research groups), what they meant by control and the answer was clear: teens wanted to personalize their AOL(R) service with information and entertainment they cared about and if possible have it waiting for them when they logged on. This is why the RED experience is totally customizable...by you.
Who changed it?
Well, really, although we physically built it, you are the ones that changed it. We followed the research that we got from you, our teen members, suggestions, etc., and that's how the RED experience came to be. We're not done yet, over the next few weeks and months you'll see us act upon the suggestions you've made. Click here to make a suggestion.
How do I control it?
If you have AOL(R) 9.0 Optimized you will get the full, customizable experience. On any container in the RED experience click on "Customize", then select to either customize the content tabs along the top of the content container. You can customize the wallpaper by going to AOL(R) Expressions. Click here for more info or visit Keyword: Expressions.
What's it all about?
It's about control. On the RED experience you can program the top five areas of interest, so that they live in the container on your desktop. You also get to choose which container you like best. You can still change the wallpaper and have access to the full AOL Expressions content. There are 14 areas of content, some of which are entirely new and based on what members told us they wanted.
RED TV - The latest in TV, shows and TV stars.
The RED Lounge - Your community hub, chat, post, vote.
Teen People(R) - The magazine, online.
RED Sports Up-to-date scores, team info and latest news.
RED News- The latest news from all of AOL's news providers.
RED Music - Customize your music so what you are interested in is waiting for you when you log on.
RED Movies - First Looks, new releases, trailers.
RED Mind Body Soul - Your online spa.
RED Horoscopes - Your future and a funny bald guy called "the head".
RED Gear + Gadgets - What's hot, must have, must buy.
RED Games - Hints cheats and exclusive games to play, like the game "Firechild" for our members on Broadband..check it out, it's incredible.
RED Freestyle - Extreme sports from snow, street to wake.
RED Free Stuff - We all love free stuff.
RED Comics & Anime- Hot comics with interactive books and strips.
A few questions answered...
Will it slow my machine down? The RED experience isn't slower, in fact once you have downloaded a page, it gets cached and then will load very fast even on dial up.
Why change AOL teens? Simply because you asked us to. Not everyone likes change at first, sometimes it takes a while to get used to, but we think the RED experience gives you more than you ever had before - and certainly more of what we heard you asking for.
Can I customize? YES the whole thing is customizable, from the wallpaper, to the container to your content, in effect you're programming your own RED experience.
Where do I get the full experience? The full experience is available on AOL 9.0 Optimized.
Where's my E-mail? Check the toolbar at the top left hand corner of your screen.
How Do I Access Firechild? Firechild is an excellent online game available to our AOL for Broadband members. You need to have a high speed, (cable or DSL), connection to get Firechild. If you dial up onto the AOL service and are interested in getting the faster AOL(R) for Broadband, send this link to the master account holder, it has information on how to get hooked up from our high speed options page.
So there we are, give the RED experience a try, and if possible download 9.0 Optimized for the full experience. Thanks for all the feedback. We are listening and will continue to develop new areas, features and applications for the RED experience based on your suggestions.
Thanks,
Mal
The Head Of RED.
That's BS. I didn't want them to change it!
it's the commercial where the couple and the old guy are assembling the wall scuplture made SOLELY out of discarded AOL cd's. i just sat there with my mouth open... AOL is actually admitting that we all use their cd's for any other reason than actually using aol.
i think they were trying to take the self-deprecating "gosh, aren't we silly. we don't take ourselves too seriously." but when they rolled out snoop dogg, they shattered any goodwill effort they were trying to imply (seriously, i think they had him on a dolly and just rolled him out for his one stupid "fizzle-shizzle-what-the-f*ck_izzle" statement.