It probably has something to do with the old chatroom.  Maybe at one time it showed who was in it, like the bar above it shows who is on the forum.

I think flyboy28 has aol.....

God, no... lol... I wouldn't be caught dead with AOL...

Why would that effect it? ???

Quote:

That's funny. I don't see an AOL icon. If you're with AOL you have to sign on with their browser. You can download AIM separately & use it without an AOL account.

Everyone seems to run AOL down. I wonder how many have actually tried them. I don't know anything about their dubious business practices but I've been with them for about 5 years without a problem. I can't be bothered to change & it suits me fine.

PS. Hagar's tip of the day. You can tell a lot from looking at the toolbar on other people's screenshots. For example: I now know Flyboy's AIM screen name whether he wants me to or not. I wonder how many people know that you can Auto-hide the bottom toolbar by right-clicking on it & selecting Properties. It will reappear only when you pass the mouse cursor over it. This hides it from prying eyes & gives you more space on the screen to work with.

My old pal Freeserve, now called Wanadoo...(why would they wanna do that.. ...?..), treats me just fine, and sends me a big bag of chewey mints every now and again.... ....!
No complaints from them, even tho' I clock up zillions of free-time hours every quarter.... 8)...!
(All for £6 per month)... ...!
...been with them for seven years now.. ...!

Cheers all... ...!

Paul.

Quote:

As I said, I have no complaints. People wouldn't have any problems at all if they use IE or another browser like like Firefox or Opera once they're signed on. I suspect that a large percentage of AOL users don't bother to read the instructions so are blissfully unaware that this is possible. In my experience, not RTFM is the most commmon cause of all problems & complaints.

Quote:

Hi Paul. The problem with AOL is that unlike other ISPs you have to use their rotten browser to sign on. This is fine for mail but worse than useless for browsing which is what I suspect people are complaining about. I was trying to point out that once online it's possible to use any other browser. Not a lot of AOL users seem to know that.

If you're happy with IE I would stick with it. I use it 99% of the time.  It does crash* from time to time with some sites but I've never had this problem with SimV.

If anyone wants to try another browser Firefox is completely free & better than Opera. IMHO
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

*PS. I should make it clear that this a bug with IE, my system or the webpages themselves & AOL cannot be blamed for it.

PPS. As a (reasonably) satisfied AOL customer I seem to be unique.
I'm a tad nervous about admitting it as "AOL Users" seem to be regarded in much the same way as Volvo Drivers. LOL

The problem with AOL is caused by

1. The insistance that you provide credit card details in order to take advantage of the free trial period.

2. Then instead of the software shutting down and insisting that you purchase an activation code,  they start charging you. This is irrespective as to wether the software actually worked ... or wether you wish to use it.

3. You don't OPT in they insist on you opting out and contacting them to stop payment.

4. They have no way of checking (or so they say) wether the software that you "register" is actually being used  E.G. ... I tried using AOL some years ago however it wasn't compatible with my connection (ISDN) at the time and therefore didnt work.. I suddenly found nasty letters appearing threatening court action because payments had been stopped after the 90 hour trial had ended. I hadn't even been able to register the software properly.... therefore not been able to use it  apart from the page asking for credit card details. Now what does that say to you!!

5. What is the need for all the gumph that they insist on placing on your computer ... when all the components are already there for browsing all you really need is a relyable ISP.

6. If you decide that AOL isn't for you its a major B*****d to get rid of the software and all its added gumph... This includes having to alter the registry on some machines (This was required on my wifes machine). In other words the uninstaller doesnt uninstall everything properly ....... and you know what ... it damn well makes sure that you cant use anything else untill its cleaned off properly.

There RANT over ....... thats what I and most of my friends in I.T. think of AOL.

cheers
eno