Hey...this is Taz, remember I have a hard enuff time finding the off and on button so don't flame me for being ignorant. But.....having sent off to both Mindspring and AOL, a complaint re LL, it occurs to me that maybe the way to get action on their parts is to do a DOS on them with complaints of LL? If we could set our computers to bombard them continually for an hour or so, maybe someone would get off his fat a$$ and do something. I don't know how it is with Mindspring, but I can tell you that getting help or any kind of action out of AOL anymore is just peeing in the wind. I for one am going to get a new ISP as soon as I can get my computer "wiped" as AOL 5.0 has destroyed my software. Unfortuanetly, one cannot put another ISP on here after 5.0 and have it run as it is supposed to. So, having been a real champion of AOL for years I have now gone 180 degrees. I would say I am not alone since their stock has fallen over 50% in the last 6 weeks. Just bitching. Taz

-- Taz (Tassi123@aol.com), February 18, 2000

Answers

Taz, I am interested in knowing what problems AOL has caused with your computer, as I am using it without problem. So are many other people. The only accusation I am aware of is that it sets AOL to be your default internet connection. There is a way to go in through Windows and disable this, and it doesn't require any editing of system files or anything fancy.

-- Amy Leone (leoneamy@aol.com), February 18, 2000.

I too sent off complaints to their respective ISP's. I don't think we'd get the proper respect by doing a DoS attack on them. I just hope they decide to respond. Their Rules of Conduct both have explicit rules against these types of childish antics.

-- Powder (Powder47keg@aol.com), February 18, 2000.

Taz, I understand your frustration, but I think a DOS attack on AOL and/or MindSpring would cause more problems than it would solve.

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), February 18, 2000.

Could someone please post the info needed to complain. I suspect many more of us will do so if we know how and where?

Thanks!

-- Flash (flash@flash.flash), February 18, 2000.

Abuse@mindspring.com is that one addy, forget AOL, the borg have no conscious nor pity.

-- zog (zzoggy@yahoo.com), February 18, 2000.

Flash,

Here's a thread about registering complaints:

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002aS0

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), February 18, 2000.

aw, come on, Zog, all we're asking is that LadyButt be assimilated...

-- Had it with (the@LL.troll), February 18, 2000.

Taz, while you have a reason to be upset, a dos attack of complaints on AOL is definately a bad idea. While AOL might not care what its users do, they would care if someone attacked them. And since they have the money and lawyers to pursue their enemies, we would just be creating problems for ourselves. I feel the same way about AOL. I have warned several friends not to try the free one month of aol, but they have not listened. They did regret it afterwards.

-- Butt Nugget (catsbutt@umailme.com), February 18, 2000.

Taz, AOL sucks, majorly. 5.0 was such a bomb. Had to uninstall it the next day to be able to use my computer. Their graphics suck also. They are resting on their laurels, such as they are. Have you tried Juno? I am weighing Juno and AOL. I have asked for feedback here on Juno. So far, no responses.

-- canthappen (n@ysayer.com), February 18, 2000.

Thanks, guys. Complaint Sent!

-- Flash (flash@flash.flash), February 18, 2000.

Had relatives who tried Junko...HATED IT.

-- Tim (pixmo@pixelquest.com), February 18, 2000.

Amy, what version are you using? I went back to 4.0 and it works ok, until for some reason they steal my cursor. I can go down to taskbar and bring up IE and everything is OK. But to get back on AOL I have to reboot when it happens.

-- canthappen (n@ysayer.com), February 18, 2000.

Amy, Taz, et. al.,

While we're on the subject of AOL problems, here's a link to a thread (that links to other places) that goes into the 5.0 situation a little:

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002Vjk

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), February 18, 2000.

I'll give you some info concerning the free ISP service from Juno. I got it, and it wasn't too hard to get used to. They do want you to answer a fairly long survey, but that's no biggie. Some of the answers were not correct, to make it more fun. :)

Biggest problem was that when using Internet Explorer, their banner ad/command bar covers up most of the IE toolbar (back arrow, forward arrow, favorites, etc).

I refuse to go to the trouble to copy down on paper all my favorites and add them to the address book. Juno does not have free technical advice. They want you to pay $1.95/minute to talk to a live tech. That is worse than Microsoft which charges $35/incident (but there is no time limit on how long you can talk to them - I had one problem take 2 hours, and only got charged the $35.00).

I then sent a letter to the "President's Office" asking for help, and never got a reply. Hell with Juno.

I'm still looking for a free ISP that is worth a damn.

-- Bill (billclo@blazenet.net), February 18, 2000.

Bill, Try AltaVista.com for a free ISP. The plus is that they have an extremely small banner which can be moved around. Very unobtrusive. Also by this summer several FREE DSL providers. To all, get away from AOL, they suck bigtime. I used them for 2 days and shut them down, and will never use them again! I have DSL now and will never go back.

-- (dorado@dorado.com), February 18, 2000.

Taz has a good idea. I think by "DOS" she means if all of us keep complaining until she's dealt with. Lets fill THEIR (abuse@aol.com etc) mailboxes with our complaining "spam".

I've sent my complaints to these 4 addresses, using ALL of my email addresses(hotmail/yahoo etc):

abuse@mindspring.com

abuse@aol.com

postmaster@aol.com

TOSgeneral@aol.com

"Squeeky wheel gets the oil", so lets squeek it!

-- Chris (#$%@#@pond.com), February 18, 2000.