# Why is AOL still popular?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-aol-still-popular/51046>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 20, 2001, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-aol-still-popular/51046 "2001-01-20T19:22:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-aol-still-popular/51046/42 "2001-01-24T22:59:24Z")

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Unfortunately I don’t live in London

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**Author:** ![Jeannie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@Jeannie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeannie)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2001, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-aol-still-popular/51046/43 "2001-01-25T00:09:24Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Molson \*  
> \*\*Jeanie is my anti-AOL hero. \*\*

Aw…I’m touched…I’ve never been someone’s hero before. May I print this and frame it?

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**Author:** ![Winnowill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4491bb/32.png) [@Winnowill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnowill)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2001, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-aol-still-popular/51046/44 "2001-01-25T00:17:10Z")

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I had a bad experience with their long distance service. They bill directly to your credit card. You never see a statement - you actually have to log onto AOL and find out where they hide it. That’s bad enough, especially with teenagers in the house (my husband’s, not mine) over the summer.

Once, after we had switched our computer accounts to a different ISP, the card that our long distance service was on was maxed out. Christmas, you know. AOL sends an e-mail. Well, since we no longer USED AOL, we didn’t realize this. They cut off our long distance service. I had never really been happy with it, anyway, so we switched over to AT&T. Anyway, the following month, when the credit card has a bit of space on it, AOL **switches us back!!** Without even letting us know!! Two months later, our service gets cut off AGAIN! So I, not knowing that we had been snatched off AT&T by the evil AOL, call AT&T prepared to rip someone a new you-know-what. AT&T, very kindly checks into it and reveals that AOL picked us back. I call AOL and do a bit of arguing. They tell me that we actually had to call up and cancel, or they would continue to pick us back. My reply that they, by shutting off our long distance service, effectively cancelled us, went unnoticed. So I told her that I was cancelling, then called our phone provider and put a “pick freeze” on our line. Nobody will be able to switch our long distance without our knowledge again.

I now use Mindspring. I’m blissfully happy.

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