AOHell shittiness...

[Rogue 9]

AOL has decided to not allow anyone in my family to log in, citing an unspecified Terms of Service violation and asking us to confirm a bunch of personal information, which the said Terms of Service say that AOL will never do. I'm having a hard time believing this, but I'm also having a hard time believing that a third party could manage to completely deny us access to the Internet without leaving some sort of trace/succumbing to the temptation to screw up other stuff on the comp. Furthermore, I just tried to log in from aol.com to check my mail and it says that my screen name is invalid. What gives?

[Batman]

AOL has decided to not allow anyone in my family to log in, citing an unspecified Terms of Service violation and asking us to confirm a bunch of personal information, which the said Terms of Service say that AOL will never do.

Is AOL (the provider) asking this information when you call them to have your access reestablished, or is AOL (the software) asking when you try to log in?
If it's the latter, call AOL. And check your PC for spyware and stuff provided you haven't done so already.
If it's the former, go find another provider. People don't hate AOL because they<'re paid to do so, you know.

I'm having a hard time believing this, but I'm also having a hard time believing that a third party could manage to completely deny us access to the Internet without leaving some sort of trace/succumbing to the temptation to screw up other stuff on the comp.

AOL services are available, and can thusly be abused to the point of AOL going Denial Of Service on your account, without anybody ever having any access whatsoever to your PC.
Like web-base e-mail access, for example.

Furthermore, I just tried to log in from aol.com to check my mail and it says that my screen name is invalid. What gives?

IIRC, AOL doesn't bother to distinguish between disabled and nonexistent accounts. I dimly recall the same thing hapening to me when MY account was disabled due to somebody abusing it...

[Vendetta]

Try phoning them.

After they've told you that it's your modem driver, and you've told them to stop being so stupid, they should be able to check the status of your account, and if it has been closed, tell you why.

If it's all OK their end, suspect malware.

[Kamakazie Sith]

AOL has decided to not allow anyone in my family to log in, citing an unspecified Terms of Service violation and asking us to confirm a bunch of personal information, which the said Terms of Service say that AOL will never do. I'm having a hard time believing this, but I'm also having a hard time believing that a third party could manage to completely deny us access to the Internet without leaving some sort of trace/succumbing to the temptation to screw up other stuff on the comp. Furthermore, I just tried to log in from aol.com to check my mail and it says that my screen name is invalid. What gives?

Call in. There they will ask you to confirm your information for security reasons. AOL said it will never ask for that information online, but they do have to over the phone beacause of security reasons. Remember you're calling them...

They will then tell you what the TOS violation is, they have to. Actually, the have to tell the billing contact (the name of the credit card holder)

If your screen name is invalid someone could have stolen the password for the master account and deleted your screen name. Don't worry though you can get it back....but the most important step right now is to call them.

[Kamakazie Sith]

IIRC, AOL doesn't bother to distinguish between disabled and nonexistent accounts. I dimly recall the same thing hapening to me when MY account was disabled due to somebody abusing it...

AOL usually just changes the passwords for minor TOS violations. If the account is actually inactive then the violation is much more serious, or it's the third minor violation.

[Kamakazie Sith]

Try phoning them.

After they've told you that it's your modem driver, and you've told them to stop being so stupid, they should be able to check the status of your account, and if it has been closed, tell you why.

If it's all OK their end, suspect malware.

If you explain yourself AND choose the appropriate phone choices you shouldn't have this problem.

Simply telling them you're getting an invalid account message or invalid password will help them determine where you need to go. However, knowing the appropriate message for sure is very important.

[Kamakazie Sith]

About seven out of ten times if you hate AOL for crappy service it's probably your fault. Your computer sucks, or you just plain suck with computers.....

I use to work there so I'm not talking out my ass here. Not saying Rogue is a novice computer user but if he is then he might want to be a bit more open about the possibilities here.

[Batman]

About seven out of ten times if you hate AOL for crappy service it's probably your fault. Your computer sucks, or you just plain suck with computers.....

In defense of unhappy AOL users the world around, while that may be technically correct AOL isn't all that efficient in getting its customers to fix it.
Case in point: I have, repeatedly, complained to AOHell that the performance of my dial-up connection sucks (I've got a 56.6 modem so 45/48K conections are surely not too much to ask for. And yes, I DID get those until a while ago so it's NOT a phone line issue. The best I can get these days is 37K or some such). The TechSupport guy claimed that it might be a problem with my modem, and they'd email me WRT possible fixes/workarounds. While that TechSupport guy may very well have been correct (I'm not savvy enough WRT modems to claim one way or the other) I never had the opportunity to find out, because I never got those emails...

[Kamakazie Sith]

In defense of unhappy AOL users the world around, while that may be technically correct AOL isn't all that efficient in getting its customers to fix it.
Case in point: I have, repeatedly, complained to AOHell that the performance of my dial-up connection sucks (I've got a 56.6 modem so 45/48K conections are surely not too much to ask for. And yes, I DID get those until a while ago so it's NOT a phone line issue. The best I can get these days is 37K or some such). The TechSupport guy claimed that it might be a problem with my modem, and they'd email me WRT possible fixes/workarounds. While that TechSupport guy may very well have been correct (I'm not savvy enough WRT modems to claim one way or the other) I never had the opportunity to find out, because I never got those emails...

While AOL could certainly take efforts to improve its tech support one thing I've found is that dial up connections are easily compromised. For example if there is damaging to the shielding in any part of the phone wiring it can lead to signal degradation.

Basically it means just because you reached a certain speed before doesn't mean you always will. (Not saying that's your problem though I just wanted to give you an idea of the scope of what would seem like a simple speed issue)

[Xisiqomelir]

Why not change your IP, Rogue?

[Kamakazie Sith]

Why not change your IP, Rogue?

AOL's IP isn't static when you're on dialup. Everytime you sign on it changes.

[Keevan_Colton]

Why not change your IP, Rogue?

AOL's IP isn't static when you're on dialup. Everytime you sign on it changes.

I believe he meant to say ISP.

[Kamakazie Sith]

I believe he meant to say ISP.

I believe you're right. That may work, but then again it may not. As I said before with dialup it can be hard to determine who really is at fault.

[Batman]

I believe he meant to say ISP.

I believe you're right. That may work, but then again it may not. As I said before with dialup it can be hard to determine who really is at fault.

By all means explain how Rogue 9's problem (as opposed to mine, here you very well may be correct) can be attributed to a faulty phone line...

[Kamakazie Sith]

By all means explain how Rogue 9's problem (as opposed to mine, here you very well may be correct) can be attributed to a faulty phone line...

Simple, if there has been some wear and tear to your physical line the signal will be compromised.

I believe the phone company can come out and test it but before you have them do that make sure it is a free.

However, it really could be AOL. Try some different access numbers for starters. (You probably already have...)

Just the fact that you use to get those speeds indicates something has happened either on your side, the phone company's side, or AOL's side.

[Batman]

By all means explain how Rogue 9's problem (as opposed to mine, here you very well may be correct) can be attributed to a faulty phone line...

Simple, if there has been some wear and tear to your physical line the signal will be compromised.
I believe the phone company can come out and test it but before you have them do that make sure it is a free.
However, it really could be AOL. Try some different access numbers for starters. (You probably already have...)
Just the fact that you use to get those speeds indicates something has happened either on your side, the phone company's side, or AOL's side.

Sith, you're missing the point. Regardless of what my problem is, Rogue is faced with a 'denial of service' situation.IE, assuming I correctly understood his problem (which is admittedly not a given), he CAN log onto AOL,whereupon he's told 'You're a bad guy. Git'.
IOW, technologically he CAN log onto AOL, AOL merely decides it doesn't want him...

[Kamakazie Sith]

Sith, you're missing the point. Regardless of what my problem is, Rogue is faced with a 'denial of service' situation.IE, assuming I correctly understood his problem (which is admittedly not a given), he CAN log onto AOL,whereupon he's told 'You're a bad guy. Git'.
IOW, technologically he CAN log onto AOL, AOL merely decides it doesn't want him...

Right it sounds like he's faced with a TOS violation. Usually AOL will just change the passwords and he'll get an "invalid password" message. Since he's getting an "Inactive Account" message this means that he's either had three prior minor TOS violations like swearing, sexual slurs, ect or for example he's threatened to kill someone which you only need just one of those to have your account terminated.

The best thing he can do right now is just to call.

[Xisiqomelir]

Why not change your IP, Rogue?

AOL's IP isn't static when you're on dialup. Everytime you sign on it changes.

I believe he meant to say ISP.

IP = Internet Provider contextually.

[Kamakazie Sith]

IP = Internet Provider contextually.

That's what I get for dealing with networks. IP doesn't mean Internet Provider, that's why they made ISP...IP was already taken up.

[Xisiqomelir]

IP = Internet Provider contextually.

That's what I get for dealing with networks. IP doesn't mean Internet Provider, that's why they made ISP...IP was already taken up.

No, it also means "Internet Provider", though that is a little archaic. "Internet Service Provider" is more recent.

[Kamakazie Sith]

No, it also means "Internet Provider", though that is a little archaic. "Internet Service Provider" is more recent.

I'm sure it does. It depends on what school of thought you come from. I was trying to make that clear with my network reference. In networking IP does not mean Internet Provider, at least it never has in my day.

[Drooling Iguana]

I got my first Internet connection more than a decade ago, and I have never seen "IP" used as an acronym for "Internet Provider" until today. It's always been ISP, because IP refers to your four-byte IP address, and always has.

[Xisiqomelir]

I got my first Internet connection more than a decade ago, and I have never seen "IP" used as an acronym for "Internet Provider" until today. It's always been ISP, because IP refers to your four-byte IP address, and always has.

This is incorrect. IP can have several meanings.

1) Internet Protocol

2) Internet Provider

3) Internet Protocol address

4) Intellectual Property

Out of curiousity I searched for the archaic "Internet Provider" term and I note several firms continue to describe themselves as "Internet Providers", and even more curiously, some title themselves "Internet Provider" and then use "ISP" as an acronym.

[Rogue 9]

Call in. There they will ask you to confirm your information for security reasons. AOL said it will never ask for that information online, but they do have to over the phone beacause of security reasons. Remember you're calling them...

We called. Got some guy who could barely speak English who told Mom that her security information didn't match our account. We're taking our business elsewhere, me to school and the sweet, sweet university provided DSL *cue Hallelujah Chorus* and the rest of the family to some other dialup provider. And no, I have never threatened to kill anyone through my account there, nor have I made sexual or racial slurs or anything else of the kind. Besides, even I did, it wouldn't cut off the other six accounts, would it? (And if it would, I shall slap my brother for harassing people in the AOHell chatrooms all the time. I told him it was a bad idea.)

[Kamakazie Sith]

Call in. There they will ask you to confirm your information for security reasons. AOL said it will never ask for that information online, but they do have to over the phone beacause of security reasons. Remember you're calling them...

We called. Got some guy who could barely speak English who told Mom that her security information didn't match our account. We're taking our business elsewhere, me to school and the sweet, sweet university provided DSL *cue Hallelujah Chorus* and the rest of the family to some other dialup provider. And no, I have never threatened to kill anyone through my account there, nor have I made sexual or racial slurs or anything else of the kind. Besides, even I did, it wouldn't cut off the other six accounts, would it? (And if it would, I shall slap my brother for harassing people in the AOHell chatrooms all the time. I told him it was a bad idea.)

Good I don't blame you. When I quit and filled out their survey I told them sending jobs like that over to Mexico was a stupid idea. I'm glad to see they've lost another customer.

As for your question. Yes it would effect all the screen names under the account. Reason being is AOL assumes that you or another authorized user of the account isn't breaking their TOS they assume that your computer has been infected with a trogan horse and that would make it possible that all the screen names have had their passwords compromised so they reset them all or terminate the account depending on the number of violations.

Note that for each minor violation they would reset your passwords until you reached the third one then they would temporarily terminate the account.

Also, it depends on what your definition of harassing people in a chatroom is. However, if he was reported for it then yes that would be a reason why your account was terminated. Go slap him....

There's a lot more detail into this, but since you've taken your business elsewhere I see no need to continue unless you want to know.