Back in the day, the 80s or 90s I think, AOL ran a campaign where they’d mail out tons of unsolicited CDs which if loaded into your computer would automatically sign you up for their service. I heard that a lot of kids, thinking they were games, stuck them in their computers and installed AOL.
Is this true? I know they sent out the CDs, but I’m not sure about the rest.
Peace,
mangeorge
AOL used to send out thousands of floppy disks; people would use them instead of buying any for their own use.
By the time they switched to CDs, AOL was too establishment to do that sort of trick. While it may have installed AOL via autorun (though I doubt that), you would have seen the AOL splash screen, and since AOL required a credit card number, there was no way they would sign anyone up without their knowledge.
Many of us had enough AOL CDs to use them to build a new room on our homes.
In addition to asking for a credit card, the autorun program had you selecting whether you wanted direct (they didn’t call it high-speed back then) or dial-up service, connected with AOL to find local dial-up numbers, and several other configurations the user actually had to make. I don’t doubt a lot of kids got stuck in the install program, but they couldn’t automatically sign up.
I received dozens and dozens of those CDs, and every single one of them was plainly labeled as an AOL CD. I don’t think anyone could have confused them for games.
The most amusing ones were the CDs that offered “1,000 hours of free AOL” with the caveat that it all had to be used in your first month.
I used to use them for craft and home decor projects. This invariably horrified relatives who assumed I was using music cd’s to make Christmas wreaths.
Kids are easy to “confuse” when there’s a chance they get to play with the computer. The CDs were very attractive.
I just talked to a friend, and she said she didn’t think the problem was that kids were actually hooking up with AOL, but that the install stuff loaded onto the computers was annoying to get rid of.
That’s what my (adult) daughter, an actual subscriber, complained of when she unsubscribed. She said the AOL stuff on her computer was a real hassle to totally uninstall. It would reconnect her with AOL.
They made a nice mobile, too. And because of the bright mirrored surface, they would frighten birds away from your garden.
I made two mobiles out of them as gifts for people with equally quirky senses of humor. It took a long time to collect the CDs, as I didn’t want any duplicates. Luckily AOL changed the design every couple of months.
Guess what, though: I was at the Boston Museum of Science last Saturday, and in the computer section was a mobile made of CDs. You couldn’t see the non-reflective sides, so it’s impossible to say if they were AOL cds.
Not just the 90s, but into the 2000s. (And before all of this, the predecessor company of AOL, Quantum Computer Services, deluged Commodore users with QuantumLink diskettes, PC users with PC Link, and Apple II users with AppleLink.)
AOL actually did put out sign-up discs that contained games or other entertainment, so it’s not just that kids were confused by flashy packaging-- you can see some at the AOL Virtual Museum scattered across the various versions on display. Spider-Man, Chex and Cap’n Crunch themed games, an EA Sports title or two, some Harry Potter and X-Files tie-ins. I also recall a few discs not on that site that contained bundles of crappy Flash-type games similar to those “10,000 Games!” shovelware compilations you see in stores.
Most of the game discs offered to install AOL along with the game, and it’s quite probable that a few impatient kids (and probably more adults) didn’t read the install screen and simply clicked through. One of the crappy game comps I was sent actually required AOL software installation/upgrade to install the games, though. As mentioned by other posters, though, one wasn’t signed up to AOL until they went through the process of submitting credit card or checking account information.
The counter of the small movie theater in my n’hood used to have stacks of them you could take, too (in case you didn’t get mail, I guess).
No, they didn’t automatically sign you up for the service. As others have stated, you had to go through an enrollment process to set up an account. The install program would first load the AOL program & associated files onto your computer, though.
They must’ve changed tactics, 'cause I got a Scrabble game and a Sorry game (both which are excellent,) and they have AOL install as an addition. So at some point AOL must’ve gave up and figured it’s better to give away actual games.
Back when I had AOL I accidently charged hundreds of dollars to our account by playing games. Some of these games would just have a simple click thru screen telling you that you will be charged so much money a minute or whatever. I have had this happen to me and am sure it was very common for kids to just click OK to play the game without reading or not caring about the charge
Computer magazines in the late 1990s used to have cds which had a few games on them in addition to the AOL stuff. I also remember getting them at baseball games which had a screensaver as well as the AOL program.
*45 days.
Back in the day they were so useful, dutifully sending me every disc I needed to save my essays for school, bless them 
With the advent of CDs and the new campaigns by newspapers flogging films and albums on the weekend, Dad suggested he would like to collect lots and create an art installation of some sort :dubious:
By “floppy disks” you mean the little ones encased in plastic, right? Not those big ol’ suckers that were truly floppy. Until just last year we had an old Compaq “portable” (that’s what they called it) lying around at work that used (I think) 5 1/2 in. floppies.
AOL never bothered us, though. Go figure!
IIRC, you had to return a prepaid slip of paper to request them, usually found in a PC magazine. At least, that’s the way it was in the UK.
Haha, you must be kidding. I’ve been cleaning crapware out of my dad’s computer since I was twelve. Myself, I’ve had by own PC since about that time and always kept it clean as a whistle.
Don’t underestimate kids.
Go to your room.