AOL lost 1 mil subscribers in the last 12 month

[Winetalk.com]

and left with only 26 mils.

projections are they will lose MORE before it's over

[Vick]

Good (except for shareholders of AOL)

AOL "dumbdowned" the internet and it's uses
As more have become accustom to using the Internet they no longer need the training wheels of AOL or all the nonsense that goes along with AOL (such as their incessant pop ups)

Plus AOL got WAY ut of hand with their attempts to block mail, I have a legitimate real double opt in adult email publication that I suspect AOL themselves reported as spam when they saw the email coming across their network (keyed on certain adult terms) and gave my ISP a hard time about the whole thing to the point I removed all AOL email addys (which were collect through double opt in methods)

On the other hand I will admit I still have an AOL account for when I travel. when you stop in Orangeburg, South Carolina and need an internet connection AOL does have a local dial up there and just about anywhere (am thinking MSN may as well and am considering changing to them)

[JR]

I agree with Vick. i think aol is fucked. its a tool for people who have never connected to the Intnernet. i was really shocked last year when i used it for the first time.

i use it sometimes traveling and they force you to install some massive, fucked up, hulky "guide to the world and everything in it" combined with "all the tools you will need to never leave your house again"

[JR]

i just went piss and it occured to me how to better say it. AOL today is like a 1997 version of what we all thought the internet would be.

as it turned out, most people just want to jerk off.

[Almighty Colin]

So where did the AOL customers go?

AOL/Timewarner also provides "high speed service" under two different brands; AOL and Roadrunner. Are those numbers included?

[JR]

Originally posted by JR@Jun 4 2003, 07:06 AM
i just went piss and it occured to me how to better say it. AOL today is like a 1997 version of what we all thought the internet would be.

as it turned out, most people just want to jerk off.
and pretend to be 19 year old lesbians in chat rooms while talking sex to another 30 something, fat slob named Harold also pretending to be a 19 year old lesbian.

[Rox]

We got email from ol' Dick the other day saying how AOL settled their suit with MS over the IE/Netscape thing, and that the $750 mil was going toward paying down our debt and helping the company's bottom line. Totally fucking weird.

Rumors abound re: another round of layoffs come June or July... should be interesting.

Quite a few people leaving or looking to leave -- me, I'm staying til they tell my ass to go. At least with a layoff there's a couple months' worth of severance and benefits to provide a cushion during the job hunt. Whatever. I refuse to care one way or the other.

AOL (the software) sucks. The Internet for Retards.

[Almighty Colin]

Originally posted by Rox@Jun 4 2003, 10:16 AM
AOL (the software) sucks. The Internet for Retards.
That's a large market.

[Mike AI]

Damn, I just bought that list to spam too.....

Just my luck.....

hahahaha

AOL sucks, Vick is 100% correct. It is NOT the internet.

[Peaches]

I remember being in a bookstore a few years ago and seeing "AOL for Dummies". My thought was that if you couldn't figure out AOL w/o needing an inch thick book to do it for you, you probably shouldn't be on the internet. Or even have a computer. :awinky:

[Hell Puppy]

AOL may have served it's purpose. And if they cant re-invent themselves they're in trouble.

AOL is basically the internet with training wheels. Love it or hate it, those damned AOL CD's allowed a lot of people figure out how to get online who would've otherwise been lost in the technobabble of other ISPs and given up before discovering the benefits of the net. I love those users! Many of them are too stupid to find all of the free porn on the net, so they actually pay for it.

But a couple of things have changed. The majority of people who want to be on the net are already here. The influx of fresh meat is slowing. And at the same time improvements in Windows, Mac OS and the software provided by ISPs make it easier to find your way online via MSN, Earthlink, et al.

I've also always questioned their subscriber numbers. The math of 26-30 million subscribers just doesn't add up. I wonder if they're counting screen names instead of accounts.

[Rictor]

Is Time Warner really losing these customers or are the just switching to high speed from AOL DSL or Road Runner cable? My wife had an AOL account when I married her...and I switched her to Time Warner cable...I had to call AOL to cancel and the operator really tried to fight me on it. I told her that her company is getting my money either way...and more of it now...but she said it was coming directly to her division and that was bad. Tough luck. Heh.

[Ironhorse]

It's all about the connectivity. I believe AOL is busily studying options of how to compete with the cheap available broadband services out there since it turns out - content is not king after all :groucho: