# Can someone explain AOL for me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 19, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612 "2004-08-19T21:05:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RevCo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@RevCo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RevCo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/21 "2004-08-20T01:05:33Z")
> [@bnorton](#): > > As a computer professional, this is sort of embarassing to admit, but I don’t get AOL at all. Why and how do people actually use the thing? Well, as a computer guy, I can honestly say the BEST part of AOL is that you can recover from a completely hosed computer. All your info is kept on their servers - mail, favorites, buddies, etc - so when your average schmuck blows up thier computer with spyware, porn, and virii - you can just reinstall the OS & AOL and you are back up and rocking. If they know their user name and password, they are set. You seem to already know the drawbacks. Inefficient use of bandwidth, inflexability, and price. Downloading all those ads, info and stuff does drag on the bandwidth - where as just an ISP connection with Outlook Express for mail and Netscape for web browsing is pretty efficient. You also can’t easily transport e-mail contacts, e-mail, favorites, etc to a competitors solution. Another nice feature is it updates itself, has parental controls, and allows multiple screen names. All that seems pretty obvious but a lot of it was revolutionary/novel when it first was implemented. I’ve never subscribed to AOL, but have been forced to support installations since it was first offered. The thing is - users who need AOL need AOL. I can’t explain it better (ok, I can, but that sounds nice.) ---
**Author:** ![igloorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@igloorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igloorex)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/22 "2004-08-20T01:11:21Z")
AOL should give no problems at all if you just want to use it to establish a dial up connection, then minimizing it and using whatever browser you want. I did this for years. ---
**Author:** ![RevCo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@RevCo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RevCo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/23 "2004-08-20T01:13:17Z")
> [@Celyn](#): > > Ah, a question, if I may hijack. My own ISP, of course, would like me to go through its own entry way and read all their ads and so on, but I kicked all that off, and use a simple dial up then use browser of choice. Last time I was at parent house, I tried to make the same cnvenient arrangement with the AOL stuff but, well, i couldn’t. And there is a limit to how far I want to mess with Dad’s machine. > > It finally occurred to me that AOL might have arranged things so as NOT to let people do that. Would that in fact be the case? Yes - it is the case. While you can launch another browser while running AOL, you can’t use any other E-Mail program to recieve AOL mail via POP or IMAP. So, your contacts/addresses/etc are kept on their servers. On one hand, they back them up and maintain them, on the other, they stay there. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/24 "2004-08-20T01:23:12Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > “As a automotive professional, this is sort of embarassing to admit, but I don’t get Kias at all. Why and how do people actually use the things?” Yeah, but that analogy is inadequate, because, at least Kias (the cruddiest car I ever drove: analogy good so far) are CHEAP. What the hell is AOL’s excuse? ---
**Author:** ![igloorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@igloorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igloorex)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/25 "2004-08-20T01:28:18Z")
> [@RevCo](#): > > Yes - it is the case. While you can launch another browser while running AOL, you can’t use any other E-Mail program to recieve AOL mail via POP or IMAP. So, your contacts/addresses/etc are kept on their servers. On one hand, they back them up and maintain them, on the other, they stay there. :dubious: This is no longer the case. AOL opened its email system to access by both pop and IMAP a couple of months ago. There are detailed explanations of how to set it up at AOL’s online help. So it is no problem to use Outlook or Apple mail to access your AOL email. You should also be able to access another ISP’s pop or IMAP mail while connected through AOL. In fact, there’s a standalone AOL mail application called communicator which allows to to do AOL and other mail simultaneously from inside the same interface. One thing AOL does not do very well (if at all) is let you VPN into another system. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/26 "2004-08-20T01:30:22Z")
> [@Celyn](#): > > It finally occurred to me that AOL might have arranged things so as NOT to let people do that. Would that in fact be the case? It’s in the nature of the beast. AOL is born not as an ISP, but as a commercial OLS – an On-Line Service. The point was to subscribe to AOL and do all your on-lining _within AOL’s network_ (and buy the products featured on AOL); access to other networks was not available at first, then only available via AOL’s own proxies. During the 1990s they added an actual web browser (that by now must be powered by Netscape, who they also bought out) and compatibility with POP/SMTP e-mail, but they are still in the business of keeping you doing business with AOL. (Here in PR they **do** run a “bare” ISP – CONNEXIS – in apparent response to weak demand for the full-featured service) ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/27 "2004-08-20T01:44:25Z")
I keep my account because I signed up REALLY early and have several really good short screen names that are used on all of my various internet dealings. The PITA factor (Pain in the A\*\*) is greater than the non-inertia factor to switch, but I get as pissed as the next user when they punk out. > [@mblackwell](#): > > I don’t think it is any easier than setting up a real dialup connection in Windows 95. This sounds great! Can you send me some pointers on how to do this on my G5 mac running OS X? I’m not exactly happy or proud that I’m using AOL. It’s been really easy and the switch would be a few miles of bad pavement. I’m sure it will happen in the near future. ---
**Author:** ![whatami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/85f322/32.png) [@whatami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatami)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/28 "2004-08-20T02:32:28Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > You have to remember that there was effectively no Internet outside the military and college campuses at the time. One could access dial-up services that were stand-alone units, providing whatever services and forums they provided but without enabling one to connect to anything else, much less have your own webpage, e-mail, etc. If you wanted to get e-mail from an AOL member, you signed up with AOL; from a Compuserve member, you signed up with C$; likewise Prodigy and a couple of other services that have gone the way of the dinosaur. > > It was – barely – possible to send a document online as a plain-text file. But only to someone using the same service as you. > > What made the Quantum (AOL) services special was the fact that instead of a text-based BBS, they had an actual GUI that was interactive. At this point Windows was stuck at Windows 386, and a 386 PC with 2 MB of ram and a 20 MB hard drive was the top-of-the-line machine. Perhaps I’m wrong here… or maybe in the entirely wrong age.(I’m thinking around 90-91? I used to log on to a local BBS (a version of Spitfire if I remember correctly) and could _I think_ send mail and even download a few pictures and whatnot. In fact, I remember when we used to get all kinds of porn shown in some horrible graphics. Of course, I was 13 at the time and probably would have been turned on by a beautifull dog, but nonetheless, it was there. The site just had to go down for 30 min every night to hook up to the “node” and get the updated info. So if you mailed someone, it took two to three days for them to get it, and mail back… but it was still fast! Am I entirely wrong here or what? ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lodoen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b3f665/32.png) [@Jeff\_Lodoen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lodoen)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/29 "2004-08-20T03:04:06Z")
> [@whatami](#): > > Perhaps I’m wrong here… or maybe in the entirely wrong age.(I’m thinking around 90-91? I used to log on to a local BBS (a version of Spitfire if I remember correctly) and could _I think_ send mail and even download a few pictures and whatnot. In fact, I remember when we used to get all kinds of porn shown in some horrible graphics. Of course, I was 13 at the time and probably would have been turned on by a beautifull dog, but nonetheless, it was there. > The site just had to go down for 30 min every night to hook up to the “node” and get the updated info. So if you mailed someone, it took two to three days for them to get it, and mail back… but it was still fast! > > Am I entirely wrong here or what? Could have been [Fidonet](http://www.fidonet.org/) which started in 1984 and was used on many platforms. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/30 "2004-08-20T04:56:33Z")
> [@igloorex](#): > > There are a number of people who stay with them because they’re used to them now, they like them, or there some odd little feature they don’t want to do without. That’s why my dad uses it. I’ve told him over and over that he could be spending less, but it sounds like trouble to tell people his new address, and he has AOL sending him every news story it finds containing words like “MIT” and “Venus” or “meteor”. I’ve told him that Google News will do that, but he’s stuck in his rut. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/31 "2004-08-20T07:37:47Z")
IMO, still the fastest and safest Email system around. Can have all my stuff on the road with laptop from motels and I don’t got $$$$ so I can’t stay in fancy places with WIFI - broadband… Was on a fast DSL until I moved out in the woods. Most 40th and Plum ISP’s max out about 28.8 to 33.6 has been what I have actually seen. AOHell has been running 50.666 day in and day out. Got Irefox, Opra, and IE all on my box. Can use all 4 browsers, some sites are faster with different ones. Know bunches of people who drive me nuts cause they don’t want to learn more about the computer. Just get their email and chat a bit and search Google some. They don’t call it EarthBlink for nothing. Applies to all ISP’s IMO. Aren’t you glad we got a choice in ISP’s in this country? Aren’t you glad you are not forced to use AOHell? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/32 "2004-08-20T08:09:03Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > IMO, still the fastest and safest Email system around. > Can have all my stuff on the road with laptop from motels and I don’t got $$$$ so I can’t stay in fancy places with WIFI - broadband… > > Was on a fast DSL until I moved out in the woods. Most 40th and Plum ISP’s max out about 28.8 to 33.6 has been what I have actually seen. AOHell has been running 50.666 day in and day out. Got Irefox, Opra, and IE all on my box. Can use all 4 browsers, some sites are faster with different ones. > > Know bunches of people who drive me nuts cause they don’t want to learn more about the computer. Just get their email and chat a bit and search Google some. > > They don’t call it EarthBlink for nothing. Applies to all ISP’s IMO. > > Aren’t you glad we got a choice in ISP’s in this country? > > Aren’t you glad you are not forced to use AOHell? Or, “Aren’t you glad you use dial-up? Don’t you wish everyone did?” 😃 (It had to be said.) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/33 "2004-08-20T15:04:11Z")
There is still 1 benefit from AOL that no one seems to have mentioned. It can be accessed from most parts of the USA with a local phone call. We signed up with AOL close to 10 years ago, when there weren’t a whole lot of other choices. As other options developed (and as we learned more) we switched to local ISPs, but kept the AOL in addition. While travelling in the States, there are very few places where I can’t connect the laptop up to a phone line, search for a new local dialup number, and connect to AOL. As more and more hotels start offering wireless connections as part of the room fee, this will become less important, but it’s still a nice feature for now. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/34 "2004-08-20T17:05:11Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > During the 1990s they added an actual web browser (that by now must be powered by Netscape, who they also bought out) Actually, I believe AOL’s built-in browser is currently a version of Internet Explorer. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/35 "2004-08-20T18:17:39Z")
> [@igloorex](#): > > AOL opened its email system to access by both pop and IMAP a couple of months ago. Actually, it was years ago. When I opened my earthlink account in 1996, I kept my AOL around for a year or so before finally cancelling it. I was able to use Claris Emailer (for Mac) to send and receive mail from my AOL account via dialup. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2004, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/36 "2004-08-21T06:00:12Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Or, “Aren’t you glad you use dial-up? Don’t you wish everyone did?” 😃 > > (It had to be said.) 😛 Bawahahahahhaa Boy, I walked into that… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612/37 "2004-08-21T16:09:30Z")
I have a friend who’s been on AOL since 1994 or so and still is. She particpates in many of the online communities there, and has her email so entrenched in everything that it’s more of a hassle to switch than it would be for the average user. I was on AOL for a few years after compuserve because CS wasn’t offering actual access to websites and AOL was. (CS was still just a standalone bulletin board). Plus, my compuserve name was something like [254065406540645.534065406540.611654@compuserve.com](mailto:254065406540645.534065406540.611654@compuserve.com) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-aol-for-me/260612.md?page=1)