AOL and Unconditional love: Difference between pages

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{{otheruses1|concept of unconditional love}}

{{Infobox_Company

|company_name=AOL LLC

|company_logo=[[Image:AOL logo.png|200px]]

|company_type=[[Subsidiary]] of [[Time Warner]]

|company_slogan="See What's Here For You"

|foundation=[[1983]] (as '''CVC''')

|location_city=[[Dulles, Virginia]]

|location_country=[[United States]]

|key_people=[[Randy Falco]], [[Ted Leonsis]], [[Ronald Grant]]

|num_employees=16,000<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/Company-Profiles/A/AOL-LLC-Jobs_26597 |title=AOL LLC on Yahoo HotJobs |accessdate=2007-01-16}}</ref>

|industry=[[Internet]] & [[Telecommunication|Communications]]

|products=[[Internet service provider|Internet service]]

|homepage=[http://www.aol.com/ www.aol.com] [http://corp.aol.com www.corp.aol.com]

}}

'''AOL LLC''' (formerly '''America Online, Inc.''') is a global Internet services, and media company operated by [[Time Warner]].

{{expand|date=January 2007}}

AOL is based in [[Dulles, Virginia]]. With regional branches around the world, the former American "[[goliath]] among [[Internet service provider]]s"<ref name="lessbemore">{{cite news | url = http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2006/tc20060731_168094.htm | title = Will Less Be More for AOL? | first = Catherine|last = Holahan|publisher = [[BusinessWeek]] |date= [[2006-07-31]] | accessdate = 2006-08-01 }}</ref> once had more than 30 million subscribers<ref name="lessbemore" /> on several continents.

In January 2000, AOL and [[Time Warner]] announced plans to merge. The terms of the deal negotiated called for AOL shareholders to own 55% of the new, combined company. The deal closed on January 11, 2001 after receiving regulatory approval from the [[Federal Trade Commission|FTC]], the [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] and the European Union.

AOL Time Warner, as the company was then called, was led by executives from both AOL and Time Warner. [[Gerald Levin]], who had served as [[CEO]] of Time Warner, was CEO of the new company. [[Steve Case]] served as [[Board of Directors|Chairman]], [[J. Michael Kelly]] (from AOL) was the [[Chief Financial Officer]], [[Robert W. Pittman]] (from AOL) and [[Dick Parsons]] (from Time Warner) served as Co-[[Chief Operating Officer]]s. The total value of AOL stock subsequently plummeted from about $226 billion to about $20 billion.<ref name="scrapcharge">{{cite news | url = http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060727/wr_nm/media_timewarner_aol_dc_7 | title = AOL expected to scrap charges| first = Kenneth|last = Li|publisher = [[Yahoo!]] |date= [[2006-07-26]] | accessdate = 2006-08-09 }}</ref>

'''Unconditional love''' is a concept that means showing [[love]] towards someone regardless of his or her actions or beliefs. It is a concept comparable to [[true love]], a term which is more frequently used to describe love between lovers. By contrast unconditional love is frequently used to describe love between family members, comrades in arms and between others in highly committed relationships. It has also been used in a religious context to describe God's love for mankind.

AOL is a company in transition, made evident by discussions of buy-outs and [[joint venture]]s during a period of dramatic decline in AOL's subscriber base.<ref name="lessbemore" /> News reports in fall 2005 identified companies such as [[Yahoo!]], [[Microsoft]], and [[Google]] as candidates for turning AOL into a joint venture;<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2005/tc20051111_725373.htm | title = Has AOL Met Its Match? | first = Catherine | last = Yang|publisher = [[BusinessWeek]] |date= [[2005-11-11]]|accessdate = 2006-08-01 }}</ref> those plans were apparently abandoned when it was revealed on [[December 20]], [[2005]] that Google would purchase a 5% share of AOL for $1 billion.

Some secular authors make a distinction between unconditional love and conditional love. In conditional love: love is 'earned' on the basis of conscious or unconscious conditions being met by the lover, whereas in unconditional love, love is 'given freely' to the love one 'no matter what'. Conditioning love requires some kind of finite exchange whereas unconditional love is seen as infinite and measureless. Unconditional love should not be mistaken with unconditional dedication: unconditional dedication refers to an act of the will irrespective of feelings (e.g a person may consider they have a duty to stay with a person); unconditional love is an act of the feelings irrespective of will.

The [[Internet service provider|ISP]] side of AOL UK was bought by [[The Carphone Warehouse]] in [[October]] [[2006]] to take advantage of their 100,000 [[Local loop unbundling|LLU]]'s, which makes [[The Carphone Warehouse]] the biggest [[Local loop unbundling|LLU]] provider in the UK, enabling them to offer broadband at no charge to 90% of their [[Talk3]] customers.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6039740.stm</ref>

Author Harold W. Becker defines Unconditional Love as "an unlimited way of being." From his book of the same title, Becker goes on to say that "the greatest power known to man is that of unconditional love. Through the ages, mystics, sages, singers and poets all expressed the ballad and call to love. As humans, we searched endlessly for the experience of love through the outer senses. Great civilizations have come and gone under the guise of love for their people. Religions have flourished and perished while claiming the true path to love. We, the people of this planet, may have missed the simplicity of unconditional love. ...Simply stated, unconditional love is an unlimited way of being. We are without any limit to our thoughts and feelings in life and can create any reality we choose to focus our attention upon. The qualities of love are endless and the expressions are infinite. The power of unconditional love is within each of us."

==History==

{| class="wikitable" width=400 style="float: right; margin: 0.5em 0 1em 1em"

! colspan="2" | AOL release timeline

|-

| 1989

| AOL for Macintosh gains popularity as a Mac BBS

|-

| 1991

| AOL for [[MS-DOS|DOS]] launched

|-

| 1993

| AOL for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] launched, AOL 2.0 for [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] launched

|-

| 1994

| AOL 2.0 for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] launched

|-

| 1995

| AOL 3.0 launched

|-

| 1998

| AOL 4.0 (Casablanca) launched

|-

| 1999

| AOL 5.0 launched

|-

| 2000

| AOL 6.0 (K2) launched

|-

| 2001

| AOL 7.0 (Taz) launched

|-

| 2002

| AOL 8.0 (Spacely) launched

|-

| 2003

| AOL 8.0 Plus (Elroy) launched

|-

| 2003

| AOL 9.0 Optimized (Bunker Hill / Blue Hawaii) launched

|-

| 2004

| AOL 9.0 Optimized SE/LE (Thailand / Tahiti) launched

|-

| 2004

| AOL 9.0 Security Edition SE/LE (Strauss) launched

|-

| May 2006

| AOL Suite (Copland) launched

|-

| August 2006

| AOL OpenRide (Streamliner) launched

|-

| October 2006

| AOL 9.0 VR (Originally AOL 9.5) (AOL 9.0 for Microsoft Windows Vista but also works with Microsoft Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP)

|-

|

|}

AOL began as a short-lived venture called '''Quantum Computer Services''' (or '''QCS'''), founded by [[William von Meister]]. Its sole product was an online service called [[Gameline]] for the [[Atari 2600]] [[video game console]] after von Meister's idea of buying music on demand was rejected by [[Warner Brothers]]. (Klein, 2003) Subscribers bought a [[modem]] from the company for $49.95 and paid a one-time $15 setup fee. Gameline permitted subscribers to temporarily download games and keep track of high scores, at a cost of approximately $1 per hour.

==Unconditional love of self==

In 1983, the company nearly went [[bankruptcy|bankrupt]], and an investor in Control Video, Frank Caufield, had a friend of his, [[Jim Kimsey]], brought in as a manufacturing consultant. That same year, [[Steve Case]] joined the company as a full-time marketing employee upon the joint recommendations of von Meister and Kimsey. Kimsey went on to become the [[Chief Executive Officer]] (CEO) of the newly renamed Quantum Computer Services in 1985, after von Meister was quietly dropped from the company.

Unconditional love of self is the Concept of loving yourself irregardless of external conditions. This includes not denying yourself/your feelings in favor of others. Ultimately in this action a person will have to move away from others who do not love without condition or teach them to.

==Unconditional love within marriage==

Case himself rose quickly through the ranks; Kimsey promoted him to vice-president of marketing not long after becoming CEO, and later promoted him further to executive vice-president in 1987. Kimsey soon began to groom Case to ascend to the rank of CEO, which he did when Kimsey retired in 1991.

Psychotherapist [[David Schnarch]] compares traditional views of unconditional love versus 'conditioned' love in marital relationships. He believes that genuine love, as he understands it, in committed relationships requires conditions. He questions the idea that unconditional love is indeed 'true' love within intimate relationships. He calls for a kind of 'rising in love' where each lover establishes conditions vis a vis the other lover that improve (or end) the love relationship. This differs from the more conventional constructs of love where people 'fall into love' unconditionally. Schnarch focuses on passionate love as essential to committed sexual relationships and paradoxically as a condition for personal growth as well.

In this kind of analysis much depends on what the author or his subjects regards as "true" love — there is no universally agreed definition. Lady [[Heather Mills]] in replying to accusations that she was "a gold digger" in marrying former [[Beatle]] Sir [[Paul McCartney]] said that she "fell in love unconditionally" as well as highlighting her charitable work.<ref>''"I Am Not A Goldigger"'', Entertainment Wise, Chris Taylor, 19 November 2006, retrieved 22 May 2007.[http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news.asp?id=24951&view=all]</ref>

Kimsey changed the company's strategy, and in 1985 launched a sort of mega-[[Bulletin board system|BBS]] for [[Commodore 64]] and [[Commodore 128|128]] computers, originally called [[Quantum Link]] ("Q-Link" for short). The Quantum Link software was licensed from [[PlayNET|PlayNet, Inc]]. In May 1988, Quantum and Apple launched [[AppleLink]] Personal Edition for [[Apple II family|Apple II]] and [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] computers. After the two companies parted ways in October 1989, Quantum changed the service's name to America Online.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.thocp.net/timeline/1989.htm | title = History of Computing Industrial Era (1985-1990) | work = The History of Computing Project | accessdate = 2005-09-24 |date= [[2006-03-20]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://apple2history.org/history/ah22.html|title = Apple II history chapter 22 |date= [[2002-12-31]]|accessdate = 2005-09-24 }}</ref> In August 1988, Quantum launched [[PC Link]], a service for IBM-compatible [[personal computer|PCs]] developed in a joint venture with the [[Tandy Corporation]].

[[Image:AOL.gif|frame|125px|right|Logo used until late 2004.]]

[[Image:Aoleuropelogo.JPG|frame|125px|left|Logo was used in Europe between 2005-2006. Now most European AOL Websites use the same logo as AOL USA and AOL Canada.]]

==Unconditional love as a tool for authoritarian control==

From the beginning, AOL included [[online games]] in its mix of products; many classic and casual games were included in the original PlayNet software system. In the early years of AOL the company introduced many additional innovative online interactive titles and games, including:

* Graphical chat environments [[Habitat (video game)|Habitat]] (1986-1988) and [[Club Caribe]] (1988) from [[LucasArts]],

* The first online interactive fiction series [[QuantumLink Serial]] by [[Tracy Reed (writer)|Tracy Reed]] (1988),

* [[Quantum Space]], the first fully automated [[Play-by-mail game|Play by email]] game (1989-1991),

* The original [[Dungeons & Dragons]] title ''[[Neverwinter Nights (AOL game)|Neverwinter Nights]]'' from [[Stormfront Studios]] (1991-1997), the first Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game ([[MMORPG]]) to depict the adventure with graphics instead of text (1991) and

* The first chat room-based text role-playing game [[Black Bayou]] (1996-2004), a horror role-playing game from Hecklers Online and [[ANTAGONIST, Inc.]]

Authors Kramer and Alstead assert that the concept of unconditional love, is false, misleading, and a pervasive cause of authoritarian control in religion, relationships and families. They believe that unconditional love, along with what they perceive to be the closely related religious concept of 'unconditional forgiveness', are false concepts used to perpetuate ongoing cycles of injustice and abuse. To them, the entire concept of Christian unconditional love is embedded within one of the "most authoritarian, thus conditional, structures on the planet" and is therefore far from condition-free.

In February 1991 AOL for [[DOS]] was launched using a [[GeoWorks]] interface followed a year later by AOL for Windows. In October 1991, Quantum changed its name to America Online. These changes coincided with growth in pay-based BBS services, like [[Prodigy (ISP)|Prodigy]], [[CompuServe]], and [[GEnie]]. AOL discontinued Q-Link and PC Link in the fall of 1994.

<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:AOL_9.0_EN_EU_VSUK.PNG|right|thumb|The AOL 9.0 Windows Client]] -->

They note "that in order to get Christ's love, one has to believe in him; in order to be forgiven, one must not only repent and plead for it, but one must acknowledge the authority that designates what the wrong-doing is." In their view, Christ's love depends upon obedience to his authority. Therefore, to them, Christ's love is, in fact, highly ''conditional'' despite being called 'unconditional'.

===Massive growth===

Case positioned AOL as the online service for people unfamiliar with [[computer]]s, in particular contrast to [[CompuServe]], which had long served the technical community. The PlayNet system that AOL licensed was the first online service to require use of [[proprietary software]], rather than a standard terminal program; as a result it was able to offer a [[graphical user interface]] (GUI) instead of command lines, and was well ahead of the competition in emphasizing communication among members as a feature.

They make a similar analysis of so-called unconditional forms of love and compassion in Eastern 'Oneness' religions.

In particular was the Chat Room concept from PlayNet<!-- Chat Rooms predate IRC -->, as opposed to the previous paradigm of [[Citizens' band radio|CB]]-style channels. Chat Rooms allowed a large group of people with similar interests to convene and hold conversations in real time, including:

* Private rooms &mdash; created by any user. Hold up to 27 people.

* Conference rooms &mdash; created with permission of AOL. Hold up to 48 people and often moderated.

* Auditoriums &mdash; created with permission of AOL. Consisted of a stage and an unlimited number of rows. What happened on the stage was viewable by everybody in the auditorium but what happened within individual rows, of up to 27 people, was viewable only by the people within those rows.

There were also text games played in the chat rooms, known as [[AOL chatroom game]]s.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}

==Religious perspective==

In March 1994, AOL added access to USENET to the features it offered.

In [[Christianity]] the term is commonly encountered but vaguely defined. It may be used to indicate God's love for a person irrespective of that person's love for God. The term is not explicitly used in the Bible and advocates for God's conditional or unconditional love, using different passages or interpretations to support their point of view, are both encountered. It may be considered to be closely associated with another non-explicitly biblical, but commonly encountered and vaguely defined, saying: "God loves the sinner, but hates the sin". Once again people have argued, based on variant interpretations of biblical texts, that God does not love the sinner nor the sin.

Whilst the phrase has never been used in its official teachings documents the then head of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], [[Pope John Paul II]] was recorded as saying during a [[homily]] in San Francisco, in September 1987, that God "loves us all with an unconditional, everlasting love". He explored issues touching upon this theme in his work [[Dives in Misericordia]] (1980) in which the parable of the [[Prodigal Son]] becomes a framework for exploring the issue of God's mercy. The [[civil rights]] leader [[Martin Luther King]] Jr. was quoted as saying “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality”.

AOL quickly surpassed [[GEnie]], and by the mid-1990s, it passed [[Prodigy (ISP)|Prodigy]] (which for several years allowed AOL advertising) and [[CompuServe]].

[[Neopaganism]] in general, and [[Wicca]] in particular, commonly use a traditional inspirational text, [[Charge of the Goddess]] , affirming that the [[Goddess]]'s "law is love unto all beings".

Originally, AOL charged its users an hourly fee, but in 1996 this changed and a flat rate of $19.99 a month was charged. Within three years, AOL's userbase grew to 10 million people. During this time, AOL connections would be flooded with users trying to get on, and many canceled their accounts due to constant busy signals. Also, games which used to be paid for with the hourly fee migrated in droves to the Internet.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}

==Reference Works==

AOL was quickly running out of room in 1996 for its network at the Vienna, VA campus and moved to Dulles, VA a short distance away. The move to the Dulles took place in 1997 and provided room for future growth.

*Kramer, J. and Alstead D., The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power, 1993, ISBN 1-883319-00-5

*Schnarch, David, Passionate Marriage: Keeping Love and Intimacy Alive in Committed Relationships, 1998, ISBN 0-8050-5826-5

*Schnarch, David, ''Constructing the Sexual Crucible; An Integration of Sexual and Marital Therapy'',

*Schnarch, David, ''Resurrecting Sex: Resolving Sexual Problems and Revolutionizing Your Relationship''.

*[[Stendal]], ''On Love: The Classic Analysis of Romantic Love''

*Tennov, Dorothy, ''Love and Limerence: The Experience of Being in Love'', 1999

==Notes & References==

AOL was relatively late in providing access to the open Internet. Originally, only some Internet features were accessible through a proprietary interface but eventually it became possible to run other Internet software while logged in through AOL. They were the first online service to seamlessly integrate a web browser into content.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Love]]

AOL introduced the concept of [[Buddy List]]s, leveraging their one-on-one [[instant messaging]] technology.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}

===Change in focus===

Since its merger with Time Warner, the value of AOL has dropped from its $200 billion high. It has seen similar losses among its subscription rate. It has since attempted to reposition itself as a content provider similar to companies such as Yahoo! as opposed to an Internet service provider which delivered content only to subscribers in what was termed a "[[Walled garden (media)|walled garden]]". In 2005, AOL broadcasted the [[Live 8]] concert live over the Internet, and thousands of users downloaded clips of the concert over the following months.

AOL eventually announced plans to offer subscribers classic television programs for free with commercials inserted via its new [[IN2TV]] service. At the time of launch, AOL made available [[Warner Bros. Television]]'s vast library of programs, with ''[[Welcome Back Kotter]]'' as its marquee offering. Other shows include ''[[Scarecrow and Mrs. King]]'', ''[[The F.B.I.]]'', ''[[F Troop]]'', and ''[[Growing Pains]]''.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}

In 2006, AOL informed its American customers that it would be increasing the price of its [[dial-up access]] to [[United States dollar|$]]25.90. The increase was part of an effort to migrate the service's remaining dial-up users to broadband, as the increased price was the same price they had been charging for monthly [[Digital subscriber line|DSL]] access.<ref name="mills">{{cite web|url=http://news.com.com/AOL+hanging+up+on+dial-up+customers/2100-1025_3-6043910.html?tag=nl|title=AOL hanging up on dial-up customers?|last=Mills|first=Elinor|publisher=CNET|accessmonthday=August 3 |accessyear=2006}}</ref> However, AOL has started offering their services for $9.95 a month for unlimited dial-up access.<ref name="AOL">{{cite web|url=http://free.aol.com/thenewaol/plan_choice.adp |title=AOL price plans|accessmonthday=October 29 |accessyear=2006}}</ref>

On [[April 3]], [[2006]], AOL announced that the full name "America Online" will be retired, and that the official name of the service is now "AOL".<ref name="pr">{{cite news|url = http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1179447,00.html|title = America Online Changes Its Name to AOL |date= [[2006-04-03]] | accessdate = 2006-07-24 }}</ref>

On [[August 2]], [[2006]], AOL announced that they will give away e-mail accounts and software previously available only to its paying customers in a strategy shift likely to accelerate the decline in its core Internet access business. The decision removes the few remaining reasons for many AOL subscribers to keep paying when they already have high-speed Internet access through a cable or phone company. AOL hopes that by making services free, it can draw Internet users to its ad-supported Web sites and keep them from defecting to [[Microsoft]] and [[Yahoo!]], which have offered free e-mail for years.

==Controversies==

Being named #1 in [[PC World]]'s list of the 25 worst tech products of all time,<ref>[http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,125772,pg,2,00.asp ''"The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time"''] &mdash; [[March 26]] [[2006]], PC World Magazine</ref> AOL has been involved in many controversies.

===Community Leaders===

Prior to mid 2005, AOL used volunteers called [[AOL Community Leader Program|Community Leaders]], or CLs, to monitor chatrooms, message boards, and libraries. Some community leaders were recruited for content design and maintenance using a proprietary language and interface called [[RAINMAN]], although most content maintenance was performed by partner and internal employees.

In 1999, Kelly Hallissey and Brian Williams, former Community Leaders and founders of an anti-AOL website, filed a [[class action lawsuit]] against AOL citing violations of U.S. labor laws in its usage of CLs. The [[Department of Labor]] investigated but came to no conclusions, closing their investigation in 2001. In light of these events, AOL began drastically reducing the responsibilities and privileges of its volunteers in 2000. The program was eventually ended on [[June 8]], [[2005]]. Current Community Leaders at the time were offered 12 months of credit on their accounts.

===Billing disputes===

AOL has faced a number of lawsuits over claims that it has been slow to stop billing people after their accounts have been cancelled, either by the company or the user. In addition, AOL changed its method of calculating used minutes in response to a class action lawsuit. Previously, AOL would add fifteen seconds to the time a user was connected to the service and round up to the next whole minute (thus, a person who used the service for 11 minutes and 46 seconds would be charged for 13 minutes). AOL claimed this was to account for sign on/sign off time, but because this practice was not made known to its customers, the plaintiffs won (some also pointed out that signing on and off did not always take 15 seconds, especially when connecting via another ISP). AOL disclosed its connection time calculation methods to all of its customers and credited them with extra free hours. In addition, the AOL software would notify the user of exactly how long they were connected and how many minutes they were being charged.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}

===Account cancellation===

In response to approximately 300 consumer complaints, then-[[New York]] Attorney General [[Eliot Spitzer]]’s office began an inquiry of AOL’s customer service policies. The investigation revealed that the company had an elaborate scheme for rewarding employees who purported to retain or "save" subscribers who had called to cancel their Internet service. In many instances, such retention was done against subscribers’ wishes, or without their consent. Under the scheme, consumer service personnel received bonuses worth tens of thousands of dollars if they could successfully dissuade or "save" half of the people who called to cancel service. For several years, AOL had instituted minimum retention or "save" percentages, which consumer representatives were expected to meet. These bonuses, and the minimum "save" rates accompanying them, had the effect of employees not honoring cancellations, or otherwise making cancellation unduly difficult for consumers.

Many customers complained that AOL personnel ignored their demands to cancel service and stop billing. On [[August 24]] [[2005]], America Online agreed to pay $1.25 million to the state of New York and reformed its customer service procedures. Under the agreement, AOL will no longer require its customer service representatives to meet a minimum quota for customer retention in order to receive a bonus. However, many AOL users outside New York still claim to have problems canceling their accounts.

On [[June 13]], [[2006]], a man named [[Vincent Ferrari]] documented his account cancellation phone call in a [http://insignificantthoughts.com/2006/06/13/cancelling-aol/ blog post], stating he had switched to broadband years earlier. In the recorded phone call, the AOL representative refused to cancel the account unless the 30-year-old Ferrari explained why AOL hours were still being recorded on it. Ferrari insisted that AOL software was not even installed on the computer. When Ferrari demanded that the account be canceled regardless, the AOL representative asked to speak with Ferrari's father, for whom the account had been set up. The conversation was aired on CNBC. When CNBC reporters tried to have an account on AOL cancelled, they were hung up on immediately and it ultimately took more than 45 minutes to cancel the account. AOL eventually fired the representative who had spoken to Ferrari and issued an apology.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13447232/ | title = How hard can it be to cancel an AOL account? | first = Jane|last = Wells|publisher = CNBC |date= [[2006-06-21]] | accessdate = 2006-07-24 }}</ref>

On [[July 19]], [[2006]], AOL's entire [[retention]] manual was released on the Internet. [http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/exclusive/aol-retention-manual-uploaded-in-full-188310.php] (7MB PDF)

On [[August 3]], [[2006]], [[Time Warner]] announced that the company would be dissolving AOL's retention centers due to its profits hingeing on $1 billion in cost cuts. The company estimates that it will lose more than six million subscribers over the next year. [http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/aol/timewarner-dissolves-aol-retention-centers-191878.php]

Currently, Free Account members who try to cancel their accounts, via AOL Keyword "cancel", are only redirected to a website allowing them to choose from three different paid membership plans, making it difficult to cancel the account.

===Software===

In 2000, AOL was served with an $8 billion lawsuit alleging that its (now dated) AOL 5.0 software caused significant difficulties for users attempting to use third-party Internet service providers. The lawsuit sought damages of up to $1000 for each user that had downloaded the software cited at the time of the lawsuit. AOL later agreed to a settlement of $15 million, without admission of wrongdoing. Now, the AOL software has a feature called AOL Dialer, or AOL Connect on Mac OS X. This feature allows users to connect to the ISP without running the full interface. This allows users to use only the applications they wish to use, especially if they do not favor the AOL Browser.

===Usenet newsgroups===

When AOL gave clients access to [[Usenet]] in 1993, they hid at least one newsgroup in standard list view: ''alt.aol-sucks''. AOL did list the newsgroup in the alternative description view, but changed the description to "Flames and complaints about America Online". With AOL clients swarming [[Usenet]] newsgroups, the old, existing user base started to develop a strong distaste for both AOL and its clients, referring to the new state of affairs as [[Eternal September]]. The AOL clients became renowned for their one- or two-worded replies, such as "[[me too]]", contributing absolutely nothing to the overall discussions. Thus, whenever someone today writes "AOL" in a post, they usually mean "I agree" or some intentionally stupid comment with reference to the early days of AOL clients' access to [[Usenet]]. This is frequently written in pseudo-html as "<AOL>intentionally stupid comment</AOL>"

===Terms of Service (TOS)===

There have been many complaints over rules that govern AOL's members conduct, called the ''[[Terms of Service]]'', which apply to everyone who uses AOL, regardless of age, or where an AOL member is on the Internet. Claims are that these rules are too strict to follow and do not allow swearing. TOS is known as COS (conditions of service) in the UK.

===Certified e-mail===

In early 2005, AOL stated its intention to implement [[certified e-mail]], which will allow companies to send email to users with whom they have pre-existing business relationships, with a visual indication that the email is from a trusted source and without the risk that the email messages might be blocked or stripped by [[spam filter]]s. This decision has drawn fire from [[MoveOn]], which characterizes the program as an "e-mail tax". [[Esther Dyson]] defended the move in a ''[[New York Times]]'' editorial saying "I hope Goodmail succeeds, and that it has lots of competition. I also think it and its competitors will eventually transform into services that more directly serve the interests of mail recipients. Instead of the fees going to Goodmail and EON, they will also be shared with the individual recipients."<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/17/opinion/17dyson.html?ex=1300251600&en=04138dcf8237c907&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss | title = You've Got Goodmail|author = [[Esther Dyson|Dyson, Esther]]|publisher = [[New York Times]] |date= [[2006-03-17]] | accessdate = 2006-07-24 }}</ref>

===Censorship in China===

AOL, along with [[Google]], [[Microsoft]], [[Yahoo]], [[Cisco]], [[Skype]], and others, has cooperated with the Chinese government in implementing a system of [[Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China]].

Many critics of these corporate policies argue that it is wrong for companies to profit from censorship and restrictions on [[freedom of the press]] and [[freedom of speech]].

Human rights advocates such as [[Human Rights Watch]] and media groups such as [[Reporters Without Borders]] point out that if companies would stop contributing to the authorities' censorship efforts the government could be forced to change.

===Search data release===

{{main|AOL search data scandal}}

On [[August 4]] [[2006]], AOL released a compressed text file on one of its websites containing twenty million search [[keyword]]s for over 650,000 users over a 3-month period between March 1, 2006 and May 31, intended for research purposes. AOL pulled the file from public access by [[August 7]], but not before its wide distribution on the Internet by others. Derivative research, titled "[http://www.ir.iit.edu/~abdur/publications/pos-infoscale.pdf A Picture of Search]" was published by authors Pass, Chowdhury and Torgeson for [http://www.cs.hku.hk/infoscale06/ The First International Conference on Scalable Information Systems].

This data is being used by Web sites such as [http://www.aolstalker.com AOLstalker] for entertainment purposes, where users of AOLstalker are encouraged to judge AOL clients based on the humorousness of personal details revealed by search behavior.

==Company purchases==

As it grew, AOL purchased many other software companies, including:

* Redgate Communications, in August, [[1994]], through which [[Ted Leonsis]] joined AOL.

* [[BookLink]] bought on [[December 29]] [[1994]].

* [[NaviSoft]]'s [[NaviServer]] (later to become [[AOLserver]]) on [[November 30]] [[1994]].

* Medior in May, [[1995]], through which Barry Schuler joined the company.

* [[Ubique (company)|Ubique]] maker of [[Virtual places|Virtual Places]] on [[September 22]] [[1995]].

* [[Johnson-Grace]], developers of data compression technology, on [[February 1]] [[1996]]

* [[Global Network Navigator|GNN]] Global Network Navigator, [[1995]]

* iAmaze

* [[ImagiNation Network|ImagiNation Network (I.N.N.)]] from [[AT&T Corporation|AT&T]] on [[August 6]] [[1996]].

* [[CompuServe]] on [[February 22]] [[1998]].

* [[Mirabilis (company)|Mirabilis]] (maker of [[ICQ]]) on [[June 8]] [[1998]].

* Personal Library Software (PLS) (maker of CPL full text retrieval engine software) on [[November 11]] [[1998]].

* [[Nullsoft]] (maker of [[Winamp]]), in [[1999]] for $86 million

* [[Netscape Communications Corporation|Netscape]], on [[March 17]] [[1999]] for $4.2 billion.

* [http://www.newmdicalhelp.com NewMedicalHelp] Online help

* [http://www.spinner.com/ Spinner.com] in May [[1999]]

* [[Moviefone]] on [[May 21]] [[1999]] as part of a $525 million stock deal.

* [[Tegic]] on [[December 1]] [[1999]].

* [[Mapquest]] on [[July 3]] [[2000]].

* [[Quack.com]], a voice-based infrastructure and services company, on [[August 31]] [[2000]] for $200 million.

* [[eVoice]], a telecom services company, in [[2001]].

* [http://infointeractive.com InfoInterActive], a telecom software company, on [[July 19]] [[2001]].

* [[DeadAIM]] in [[2003]].

* [[Singingfish]] audio and video search engine, November [[2003]].

* [http://advertising.com Advertising.com], an Internet advertising agency, on [[August 2]] [[2004]].

* [http://mailblocks.com MailBlocks], a personal, Web-based email service, on [[August 4]] [[2004]].

* [http://xdrive.com Xdrive], a leading provider of [[online storage]] and [[file sharing]] services, on [[August 4]] [[2005]].

* [http://wildseed.com Wildseed], a privately held mobile software vendor, on [[August 8]] [[2005]].

* [[Weblogs, Inc.]], a [[blog]]ging network that runs such sites as [[Engadget]], [http://www.autoblog.com/ Autoblog], [http://www.cinematical.com/ Cinematical] and [http://www.tvsquad.com/ TVSquad], on [[October 6]] [[2005]], for $30 million.

* [http://www.musicnow.com/ MusicNow], an online music service, from [[Circuit City]], on [[November 3]] [[2005]].

* [http://www.truveo.com/ Truveo, Inc.], a video search company, on [[December 21]] [[2005]], for $50 million.

* [http://www.lightningcast.com/ Lightningcast, Inc] a provider of technology that enables broadband audio and video marketing, branding and advertising, in May [[2006]].

* [http://www.userplane.com/ Userplane], a [[social network]]ing software provider, in August [[2006]].<ref>http://press.aol.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=1031&section_id=14</ref>

* [http://www.gamedaily.com/ GameDaily], a gaming web site, in August [[2006]].<ref>http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=13535</ref>

* [http://www.relegence.com/ Relegence], a financial news and information services company, in November [[2006]] for between $55 and $65 million.<ref>http://www.relegence.com/November8.htm</ref>

* [[TradeDoubler]], an Internet marketing provider based in Sweden, for $900 million. (pending approval of TradeDoubler shareholders)

==Company sales==

AOL ([[Time Warner]]) has sold a number of its sub-companies in Europe.

AOL Europe has six million users, but its subscription base had been steadily declining. In 2005, 287,000 European AOL online users migrated to other service providers.<ref>{{cite news

| url= http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/15/aol_for_sale/

| title= AOL Germany for sale?

| publisher= The Register

|date=2006-04-15

| accessdate=2006-11-08

}}</ref>

===AOL Germany===

In September 2006, AOL Germany's ISP business ([http://www.aol.de AOL Deutschland]) was sold for $863m (€675m) to [[Telecom Italia]].<ref>{{cite news

| url= http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/18/telecom_italia_buys_aol

| title= Telecom Italia buys AOL Germany

|date=[[18 September]] [[2006]]

| accessdate=2006-11-11

}}</ref>

===AOL UK===

In October 2006, [[AOL UK]]'s ISP business was sold for $688m (£370m) to [[Carphone Warehouse]].<ref name="CPW">{{cite news

| url= http://www.cpwplc.com/cpw/media/press/2006/2006-10-11/

| title= Carphone Warehouse to acquire Time Warner's AOL Internet access business in the UK for £370 million

| work= Carphone Warehouse Press Release

|date=2006-10-11 | accessdate=2006-10-27

}}</ref>

For further details see [[AOL UK]].

===AOL France===

In October 2006, [http://www.aol.fr AOL France]'s ISP business was sold for $366m (€288m) to [[Neuf Cegetel]].<ref>{{cite news

| url= http://www.telegeography.com/cu/article.php?article_id=15007

| title= Authorities clear neuf purchase of AOL France

|date=2006-10-27

| accessdate=2006-11-08

}}</ref>

==Notable persons associated with AOL==

{{Unreferenced-section|date=January 2007}}

* [[Randy Falco]] (CEO and board chairman)

* [[Ronald Grant]] (President and COO)

* [[Jonathan Miller (America Online)|Jonathan Miller]] (former CEO and board chairman)

* [[Jim Kimsey]] (former CEO and board chairman)

* [[Steve Case]] (former CEO and board chairman)

* [[Jan Brandt]] (former President of Marketing)

* [[Jim Barksdale]] (former director)

* [[Colin Powell]] (former director)

* [[Stacey Monponsett]] (2004 AOL All Star Blogger winner)

* [[Alexander Haig]] (former director)

* [[John Barnes]] (former head researcher)

* [[Justin Frankel]] (Nullsoft founder)

* [[Ted Leonsis]] (Vice-Chairman, President AOL Audience Group)

* [[Randall Boe]] (Executive Vice President and General Counsel)

* [[Michael Powell (politician)|Michael Powell]] (during merging with [[Time Warner]])

* [[Marc Andreessen]] (Netscape co-founder)

* [[Jason Smathers]] (former AOL employee convicted of stealing the Internet provider's entire subscriber list -- over 30 million consumers, and their 92 million screen names -- and selling it to a known spammer.)

* [[Jason Calacanis]] (former CEO of Weblogs, Inc. and former GM of Netscape)

* [[Maureen Govern]] (former CTO)

* [[Barry Schuler]] (internet pioneer and former CEO)

==McAfee==

AOL includes McAfee VirusScan and McAfee Firewall Express for its subscribers. Upon introduction, McAfee VirusScan was 8.0 and Firewall Express was 5.0. Initially, it was only available to subscribers using AOL 8.0 and 9.0 software; but has since become available to anyone using versions as old as 6.0.

In late-2005, AOL released the AOL Safety and Security Center, it was designed to be an all-in-one solution to security needs. It included McAfee powered virus protection, spyware, spam and phishing protection, plus parental controls and a firewall. The antivirus was offered free but only to users with an AOL e-mail address or an AOL My eAddress running Microsoft Windows XP.

In mid-2006, AOL began offering a new version of virus and trojan protection, called [[AOL Active Virus Shield]]. The software is not made by McAfee, but instead is made by Kaspersky Labs. This antivirus software is free, and does not require an AOL account, only an e-mail address. This software runs on Microsoft operating systems such as Windows 98, 2000, ME & XP.

==AOL Keywords==

Keywords are words or phrases that act as shortcuts to AOL areas and Web sites.

For example, to view football news and results, you go to AOL Keyword: Football.

Many companies used to pay AOL to have their content featured as an AOL Keyword. One used to see AOL Keywords listed on products or in advertisements in much the same way that Web URLs are used today.

Some AOL keywords at AOL USA, AOL Germany, AOL Canada or AOL UK only work in these countries and cannot be used by AOL customers in other countries (and vice versa). Every other country (where AOL is available) has its own AOL keyword(s).{{Fact|date=January 2007}}

==Free services==

On Wednesday [[August 2]] [[2006]] AOL announced: "We’re in the process of offering all of our content and many of our services for free -- with or without an AOL Internet connection."<ref>{{cite news

| url= http://www.themoneytimes.com/articles/20061004/aol_uses_refurbished_software_to_woo_customers-id-101785.html

| title= AOL Uses Refurbished Software to Woo Customers

| publisher= The Money Times

|date=[[4 October]] [[2006]] | accessdate=2006-11-11 }}</ref>

Among the announced plans are free email services similar to many 'free' email providers. Chatrooms are included with the free service, but users are required to verify the age of an account created under the free plan using a credit card. AOL charges $1 to the credit card provided and then immediately refunds the charge. Thus people making new accounts currently experience problems where as those who have simply converted their pay accounts over to the free plan can chat without worry.

The current version of AOL's software as of August 2006, AOL 9.0, was once identified by [[Stopbadware]] as being "under investigation" [http://stopbadware.org/reports/reportdisplay?reportname=aol082706], for

installing additional software without disclosure, and modifying browser preferences, toolbars, and icons. However, as of the release of AOL 9.0 VR on January 26, 2007, it is no longer considered badware due to changes AOL made in the software [http://stopbadware.org/reports/reportdisplay?reportname=aol90vr].

On [[16 February]] [[2007]] It was announced that AOL now supports OpenID

On [[October 4]] [[2006]], AOL released its new, free internet suite, AOL [[OpenRide]], which combines a web browser, instant messenger, email client and media player in one program window.

AOL currently provides free usage of a custom [[___domain name]], which it calls an [http://domains.aol.com AOL My eAddress]. This currently allows you to create an e-mail address like '[e-mail]', and allows up to 100 other addresses to be created. These e-mail accounts can be accessed in similar manner to other AOL and AIM e-mail accounts. The ___domain, however, is currently limited to e-mail through AOL's service, and is solely registered to AOL. This may make it unsuitable for a corporate image, and currently does not allow a website or [[___domain name service|DNS]] configuration. Details can be found in the [https://domains.aol.com/personaldomain/html/tos.html AOL My eAddress Terms of Service] under section 4 'Domain Name Registrations'.

In late 2006, AOL began offering free and ''unlimited'' digital picture storage for anyone who has an account (even free ones) with AOL, AIM, or AOL My eAddress. Users can access their photos at [http://pictures.aol.com/] which can be accessed with any account type, paid or free. There is no storage limit on the number of digital photos, and original resolutions are preserved. An ActiveX control provides a drag-n-drop interface, permitting users to drop an entire folder of photos into the web page to upload them. Features include tagging and photo descriptions, similar to Flickr.com's features.

==UnCut Video==

AOL's latest contribution to its free services is UnCut Video. UnCut Video allows registered users to post and comment on videos[http://uncutvideo.aol.com/Main.do].

==Xdrive==

Xdrive is a service offered by AOL which allows users to backup their files over the Internet. The service provides a free 5 [[Gigabyte|GB]] account (free [[online storage]]) to anyone who has, or is willing to sign up for a free AOL screenname.<ref name="Pogue">{{cite news

| last =Pogue

| first =David

| coauthors =

| title =Fewer excuses for not doing a PC backup

| work =

| pages =

| language =

| publisher =The New York Times

| date =[[January 6]] [[2007]]

| url =http://news.com.com/Fewer+excuses+for+not+doing+a+PC+backup/2100-1046_3-6147459.html?tag=nefd.lede

| accessdate =6-1-2007 }} Quote: "Online backups, where files are shuttled off to the Internet for safekeeping, are suddenly becoming effortless, capacious and even free."</ref>

Xdrive also offers remote backup services and 50GB of storage for a $9.95 per month fee.<ref name="Pogue"/>

Recently, problems have arisen with Xdrive signups. People who sign up for Xdrive using an existing AOL screenname have had their screenname disabled without explanation. Those who had been using AIM as a free service, even under screennames in existence for many years, have been unable to get the accounts reinstated or access the data associated with them.<ref>{{cite news

| url= http://www.livingsweb.com/index.php/2007/04/15/aol-suspending-aim-accounts-for-seemingly-no-reason/

| title= Aol + Xdrive = Suspended Aim Account?

|date=2007-04-15

| accessdate=2007-04-22

}}</ref> In addition, affected users with free AIM accounts cannot reach AOL for help or even for information, as their phone support explicitly excludes such users. AOL is apparently either unaware of this problem or has no intention to investigate or rectify it.

==Movie studios partnership==

On Friday, [[August 25]], [[2006]], AOL announced that it had signed a deal with several major movie studios to open an online video store allowing users to "download to own" full length movies and television shows. The deal was signed with News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox, Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/AR2006082401544.html</ref>

==See also==

* [[All caps]]

* [[AOHell]]

* [[AOL Explorer]]

* [[Eternal September]]

* [[Inside-AOL.com]]

* [[Playlinc]]

* [[AOL Radio]]

* [[AOL Sessions]]

* [[AOL UK]] - ''in October 2006, [[The Carphone Warehouse]] acquired AOL UK for £370 million.''<ref>{{cite news

| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6039740.stm

| title= Carphone Warehouse buying AOL UK

| work= BBC News |date= 2006-10-11 | accessdate=2006-10-11

}}</ref>

==Footnotes==

<references />

In 2004 along with the launch of AOL 4.0 optimized, AOL also made available the option of personalized greetings. Which would enable the user to hear his or her name while accessing basic functions, mail alerts and logging in or out. America Online users can access the greetings recorded by the female voice of Patricia Walden or the male voice of Chris Kepics (http://chriskepics.googlepages.com) by installing version 9.0 optimized which can be done online by going to AOL Keyword: Upgrade. Once the user is running the current program, go to Keyword: Event Sounds, then select "Change" and "Add Your Name" to access the voices.

==References==

* Klein, Alec (2003). ''Stealing Time: Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Collapse of AOL Time Warner''. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-5984-X.

* Mehta, Stephanie N. & Vogelstein, Fred ([[November 14]], [[2005]]). "AOL: The Relaunch". ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'', p. 84 &ndash; 88.

==External links==

* [http://corp.aol.com/ AOL corporate site]

* [http://www.aol.com/ AOL.com]

* [http://www.aol.co.uk/ AOL UK Portal]

* [http://discover.aol.com/international.adp AOL's Worldwide Services]

* [http://www.aol.ca AOL Canada]

* [http://www.aol.in AOL India]

===AOL-Owned Sites and Services===

* [http://aol.in/ AOL India]

* [http://autos.aol.com AOL Autos - Used Cars, New Cars, and Kelly Blue Book Values]

* [http://jobs.aol.com AOL Jobs - Job Search and Career Advice]

* [http://personals.aol.com AOL Personals - Personals, Love, Singles and Advice]

* [http://realestate.aol.com AOL Real Estate - Real Estate Listings and Advice]

* [http://www.aolatschool.com/ AOL@SCHOOL - K-12 Education Portal]

* [http://shopping.aol.com AOL Shopping - Shopping & Price Comparison]

* [http://travel.aol.com AOL Travel - Airline Tickets, Flights, and Airfare]

* [http://tvguide.aol.co.uk/ AOL UK TV Guide]

* [http://kids.aol.com/ KOL - Just for Kids]

* [http://teens.aol.com/ RED - Online Teen Community & Entertainment]

{{Time Warner}}

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