AOL users won't take it anymore

America Online (AOL) customers are mad as hell and some are not going to take it anymore.

AOL is now impossible I was an AOL subscriber for three years, but since December '96 it became practically impossible to get connected to the service. Therefore, I canceled the service first week of January '97 and currently I'm using EarthLink as my Internet provider. --Artur Zwierzchowki

That was the sentiment forcefully relayed by the latest NEWS.COM Poll, which asked if readers think AOL is doing enough to deal with the barrage of complaints about busy signals and poor service that have been directed toward the online giant ever since it implemented an all-you-can-eat pricing plan last month.

Of the 1,511 readers who responded, an overwhelming majority--76 percent--said AOL is failing to respond adequately to its service problems. That spells bad news for AOL, which has protested this past week that it's putting up new modems as fast as it can.

Growing pains The reason why I intend to stay with AOL is that I can access it via the Internet thru TCP/IP. I can then get my mail and any new software quickly and easily. I can ride out this storm right now, but I can sympathize with the others who are fed up. --Robert Wilke

But the response to the second NEWS.COM Poll question--if AOL's unique content is valuable enough to stick it out with the service instead of switching to another provider--may be more distressing for AOL executives. Of the 1,264 readers who responded to this question, 61 percent said "No."

Some users were sympathetic to AOL's plight and praised the content that they can get only on AOL. Some characterized the problems as "growing pains" and said they'd stay in spite of the constant busy signals because the benefits--such as a permanent email address, screening for children, and organized content--outweighed the drawbacks.

Convenience makes it worth it I'm staying with AOL, just because of the convenience of relatives and friends that are already on AOL. I connect through an ISP, so I never have a busy signal, but to others who don't wish to, they will not hang around. --Scott Albrecht

But supportive comments were significantly in the minority, and some respondents sent simply unprintable reactions. In short, the word around town is that AOL users are angry and frustrated with the online company for widely advertising a service it can't deliver.

"The only reason I stay with AOL is [that they provide] a user home page," wrote Paul Stasky. "When I find another service with that capacity my membership will cease...I'm very disappointed that AOL was so foolish as to not realize that this giant clog would happen going to unlimited use. There is no excuse for it and I believe they shouldn't have done it until they were ready with the system equipment."

Others say they already have abandoned AOL.

Content isn't enough AOL has only had one access number in my area. No matter how good the content is, if I can't connect the service is worthless. --David J. Nosotti

"I was only using AOL to get to the World Wide Web and newsgroups and I just got tired of all the busy signals, disconnects, and too many pending requests," wrote Paul Bailey. "So I decided it was time to sign up with an ISP. I am very pleased with the decision that I have made and have recommended that everyone in our company do the same."

Roscoe Brooks summed it up this way: "If they dumped molasses into the Library of Congress, would you wade through it, because 'the content is great?'"