From: MarkLFischer at aol.com
Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2005 18:31:00 EDT
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Quoting
To: WSFAlist at WSFA.org
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

In a message dated 4/22/2005 4:43:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
omni at omniphile.com writes:

>I knew AOL had their own interface, but I wasn't aware that it didn't  use
>standard protocols.  I've never used AOL.  They really went  out and
>reinvented POP3/IMAP and SMTP for use with their user  interface?  Or are
>even using something other than TCP/IP between  the client and the server or
>don't support the usual socket interface at  the client end?

AOL was not, in the beginning, an ISP, it was a standalone online service,
and what content they provided was what you got.  The protocols involved  were
entirely proprietary.  For one thing, the client side carries a much  heavier
load than a regular ISP (this is the root of most of the problems people  have
with AOL).  Legacy issues, and some business choices largely having to  do
with advertising, have kept AOL in its own insular orbit.

It's possible to access AOL mail with Outlook, and probably with other
clients as well, using IMAP, but duelling message retention systems soured  me on
that very quickly.  AOL's plan for standards-compliant POP3 mail  access was
killed literally hours before rollout by the legal department.   The company had
sold advertising rights to all mail screens, and their inability  to transmit
the banners to third-party email clients would have placed them in  technical
breach.

AOL is useful for beginners, and also users who have no interest in  the geek
side of things, or "power user" features, and just want a single  package
with decent utility that gives them what they need with a minimum of  fuss.  From
years of doing tech support for them, I find that the  archetypal "dumb
AOLers" are just regular folks dealing with unfamiliar and  vaguely scary
technology.