


Archive-name: online-providers/aol-sucks-faq/part1


*** FAQ (Part I - Censorship ) ***

How can I leave AOL?             
  Delphi has full internet access.  Netcom has a new graphical user
  interface, and commercial GUI's also work on any UNIX account.
  For a list of internet access provider's sorted by area code, send an 
  e-mail message with the subject "send pdial" to kaminski@netcom.com, 
or 
  to archive-server@cs.widener.edu with the subject "send nixpub long".  
  There's also a Usenet group called alt.internet.access.wanted to help
  you leave AOL.  
 

Did AOL really change the names of the newsgroups?
  Yes.  alt.aol-sucks appears on AOL as "Flames and complaints about 
AOL."
 
 
Well, this is because AOL didn't like the word "sucks", right?
  Nope.  This is because they didn't like the content of the name.  AOL
  didn't touch the names of five other newsgroups with "sucks" in their
  name.  A newsgroup with the name alt.aol.rejects also had the AOL in 
  its name concealed--it was changed to "Why We Don't Play by the Rules"
  for a while.  Ironically, that newsgroup was created to try to
  circumvent AOL interference.
 
 
Are you saying that AOL censors?  
  Yes.  Messages are frequently pulled from AOL public posting areas.
  
  Your service can be revoked if you say certain words in public chat
  rooms.  Anyone seeing you use such a word can page an AOL Guide, who
  will appear in the room to monitor it's content within 5 minutes.
  (This has been used by ultra-conservatives that taunt gay users into 
  using profanity, then summon a guide to get their access revoked.) 
  
 
  AOL's terms of service also specifically prohibit certain topics
  which cannot be discussed; for instance, it's forbidden to advocate 
the 
  use of drugs.  Restrictions on "discussing with the intention to 
  commit illegal activities" are applied to chat rooms about "Hackers".
 
                                    
Okay, but people don't just go in and arbitrarily shut down things on a 
whim.   
   The New York Times ran a story about AOL shutting down any public 
chat
   room with "Riot Grrl" in its name.  (Riot Grrls are young punk 
feminists.)
   They didn't like the content.
 
   At the time, the reason given was "riot" implied violence.  But 
compare
   that to the story of the Michigan man charged with electronic 
stalking: 
   after calling a woman and leaving a message on her answering machine 
   saying "I stalked you for the first time today", she called the   
   police, who told him not to contact the woman again.  *That night* he 
   sent e-mail to her AOL account using his AOL account, and when she 
   reminded him that the police had asked him *not* to contact her, he 
   sent her threatening e-mail...  
 
   Criminal charges were filed.  But AOL never touched his account.  He 
sent
   me e-mail from AOL the day his story appeared in the New York Times.  
   You can still download his GIF from the AOL gallery, or read his AOL
   profile--including his quote, "Sometimes you just gotta go for it". 
                                                                   
 
Come on, that's just your opinion.  If AOL is censoring, how come the 
New 
York Times hasn't run a front-page story about it? 
 
   They have.
 
   Peter H. Lewis 
   New York Times  Wednesday, June 29, 1994
 
 
           Censors Become a Force on Cyberspace Frontier
 
   Freedom of expression has always been the rule in the 
   fast-growing global web of public and private computer 
   networks known as cyberspace.  But even as thousands of 
   Americans each week join the several million who use computer 
   networks to share ideas and "chat" with others, the companies 
   that control the networks, and sometimes individual users, are 
   beginning to play the role of censor.
                  
        Earlier this month, the America Online network shut 
   several feminist discussion forums....
  
                                                 [copyright New York 
Times]
          
   The American Library Association felt so strongly about the issue,
   they reprinted the article in their newsletter, "Intellectual 
Freedom".
                                                             
   Andrew Kantor reported in Internet World that AOL even edits the 
   results of their Gopher searches.   
 
 
Why don't the AOL user's complain?
   A Usenet posting listed the headings of dozens of complaints AOL-ers 
   posted in the complaint area devoted just to complaints about AOL's 
   internet access.  Among the headings were "Suggestion box broken."  
   Also included were: 
 
   >Newsgroup suggestion box
   >Does the suggestion box ever work?
   >Please respond to this!
   >Is anybody listening?
   >I wonder if anyone reads these? 
 
   AOL's philosophy borders on net-abuse.  They went online with a 
Usenet
   software containing a bug that re-posted every message seven times, 
and
   even without that, the worldwide cost of transmitting AOL messages 
just to
   the alt.binaries.pictures.* groups over one year has been calculated 
to be 
   700 million dollars.  { 1790.69 kilobytes per two weeks x 26 x .264 
("cost 
   per byte for each site") x 58402 (number of sites) =  $717,836,278.34 
}  
 
   Allowing their one million users access to FTP sites without 
consideration
   of the load was similar; straining resources shared for other work 
often 
   forces sites to close.  Several sites have blocked AOL access because 
of 
   this.  And because of net-citizenship issues:  AOL users can *take* 
files
   from FTP sites, but they can't leave any, and while AOL charges for 
access
   to resouces made available to them freely, they prohibit access to 
any of
   their own.  
 
   This gets into an ideological war.  Technology now allows people to 
freely
   exchange information at an amazing rate.  AOL attaches a meter to 
that
   process.  In addition, aggressively pursuing new users, AOL exploits 
the
   lack of awareness of existing technological capabilities, and 
establishes
   a model that follows the traditional role of pre-packaged 
entertainment
   designed for a mass audience.  New users are taught to expect 
commercial
   content, pay-as-you-go access, and regulatory oversight determining 
what's
   appropriate.  Last October there were rumors that AOL even wanted to 
   acquire their own backbone to exploit changes in internet backbone 
   status.  This has come to pass.  The internet community is left to 
hope
   that as the internet and information technology evolve, the greater 
good 
   will prevail.
 
 
                                                              [End Part 
I]


                                                                                                                          

Online
Archive-name: online-providers/aol-sucks-faq/part2



*** FAQ (Part II - Celebrities ) ***

AOL has appearances by important people.
   This is being done on IRC (especially on the Undernet).  Speakers 
have 
   included David Gergen, Frances Moore Lappe' (Diet for a Small
   Planet), Paul Martin Du Bois (co-author, The Quickening of America); 
   Susan Stamberg (NPR Special Correspondent); and Howard Rheingold 
   (Executive Editor, HotWired).
 
But I like commercialism!  What about when a celebrity appears on AOL?
   On AOL, most questions don't get answered, and again, questions are 
   picked through by an AOL Guide.  Attendance is limited to a few 
hundred,
   and the experience also suffers when questions are limited to the 
pool of
   AOL users. 
 
   Here's how Scott Rosenberg of the San Francisco Examiner described 
   his attempt to watch Mick Jagger's appearance.    
   
 
                       "I Can't Get No Interaction" 
                                                         
   You couldn't see the thick lips, and you couldn't hear the thick 
British
   drawl.  But Monday night on America Online, you could watch Mick 
Jagger
   type.
 
   The online celebrity forum is an increasingly common marketing tool 
that
   puts a famous name behind a keyboard to take questions from a crowd 
of
   cyber-onlookers...It's a pretty inefficient way to find out stuff 
about
   the rich and famous--though it does provide the best insight yet 
available
   into their typing skills. 
 
   Like many others, I spent the hour from 6 to 7 p.m. vainly clicking 
on the
   AOL "Coliseum" icon, pounding on the door to the room where Jagger 
was
   answering questions.  I wound up with a bunch of other Jagger 
turnaways in
   another AOL forum, the Odeon, where Oingo Boingo bandleader and
   movie-soundtrack composer Danny Elfman was also holding an online 
chat.
   After curtly dismissing several questions relating to Jagger, Elfman
   finally lost it when someone asked, "What about the rumors involving 
you
   and David Bowie which have been repeated again and again by Howard 
   Stern?" 
 
   "I'm not Mick Jagger, you blithering idiot," the musician responded.
 
                                          [copyright San Francisco 
Examiner]
                
AOL excised this exchange from the transcript they made available to 
their
users.  But from what's left, it's still obvious that Elfman wasn't 
having a
good time. 
 
 
Question: Loved "wierd science" & "dead man's party". How about a new 
Oingo
          album?
 
Elfman 1: Are you trying to piss me off or what? I just came out with a 
new
          Boingo album.  Why the f*** do you think I'm here right now?
 
 
Question: where should composers go who want to get their music placed 
in a 
          film (songs/soundtrack/themes,etc.? 
 
Elfman 1: I would suggest a good long stay in a nice quiet sanitarium. 
Make 
          sure you find one with pretty nurses and lots of strong drugs. 
          Masturbation four times a day is also an excellent exercise in  
          becoming a film composer. I put most of my music up my butt, 
not
          knowing where else to place it.
 
 
Question: what is your favorite food??
 
Elfman 1: My girlfriend's p#$@y
 
 
Question: Did you invent Batman??
 
Elfman 1: I am Batman, you imbecile.  Use the freeze frame on your video 
          player and you'll see that it's me. BTW,  I also invented 
Superman
          and Spiderman.
 
 
Question: --please answer this!!! Did you invent batman??
 
Elfman 1: Batman was my son in law twice removed, from my first marriage 
-- 
          if you really must know.
 
 
 
   Then there was the interview with Kennedy.  Like Elfman, she 
eventually
   got so frustrated with the AOL-ers, she typed in the following joke.
 
VJKENNEDY:      What's the worst part about having sex with an 8 year 
old 
                girl?
VJKENNEDY:      Getting the blood stain out of the clown suit.
 
 
   Can you blame her?  These were actual questions the AOL-er's asked.   
 
        WHERE ARE YOU?
        I am a dork please help me- from Ha ha Ha
        What is your favorite kind of cheese?
        Kennedy Will you Be My Friend?
        What is the meaning of life?
        Are you cool?
        i think you're really a black man wearing dresses.
        Are you Regular or Extra Crispy?
        you should get a tan kennedy
        You look good in a bathing suit!
        You should mud wrestle Idalas at the Beach House!
        You should convince Daisy Fuentes to wear more revealing 
                clothing on Beach MTV !!
        Will you dance naked on a table for my birthday?
        ever think of posing Nude?
        I want to lick your butt
        Do you shave your private parts?
        Hey Kennedy are you Bi?                         
        Kennedy how big are you under the shirt?        
        uncross your legs kennedy your crushing my glasses
        Which artist gets you hot?
        I here that you and Madonna are lovers, is that true?
        DID U REALLY FLASH BILL BELLAMY TODAY AT THE BEACH HOUSE? 
                THAT WUZ COOL.
 
   The amazing thing is, she answered them!
 
Question:       What is your favorite kind of cheese?
VJKENNEDY:      Gouda.
 
Quesiton:       Are you Regular or Extra Crispy?
VJKENNEDY:      I'm creamy!      
  
Question:       Kennedy what do your neighbors think of you?
VJKENNEDY:      They don't speak English so it's hard for me to tell.
 
Question:       Kennedy how big are you under the shirt?
VJKENNEDY:      42DD
 
Question:       you should get a tan kennedy
VJKENNEDY:      Why, so I can be the melanoma VJ?
 
Question:       Are your glasses subscription
VJKENNEDY:      No but they are prescription.
 
Question:       do you have a boyfrind?
VJKENNEDY:      No, I don't have a boyfriend either.
 
Question:       You should convince Daisy Fuentes to wear more revealing 
                clothing on Beach MTV !!
VJKENNEDY:      Blow me you Putz!
 
 
   Penn Jillette thinks even less of AOL.
                                               
   These are the questions the AOL-er's asked him:
 
Question: If you had a dog, what would you name him?
Question: Are you Canadian?
Question: What do you think can make us nerds any cooler?
Question: hellllllloooo one question...what;s the largest animal you 
          couldbeat up (with your bare hands) (for a collage essay)
Question: I think the show could use a little more blood.
Question: What's your favorite rock group, Penn?
Question: Will I be as cool as you if I got those shelves you have in 
          your office?
Question: Understand that Penn is a grad of Ringling's Clown College.  
Metoo!
Question: Was that a real bunny in the chipper shredder at the gig at 
          theBeacon in NY? 
 
   [The reporter with him started asking questions mocking the AOL-er's]
 
Josh Quit: what's your favorite food?
Josh Quit: who's your favorite beatle?
Josh Quit: if you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
 
   [ Penn did his best...]
 
P Jillette: I've never hit a person or animal on purpose. C'mon let's 
have
            some questions.
P Jillette: Buster, the dog would be named Buster.  He would be mean and 
            never bark. 
P Jillette: I didn't like the Beatles very much, but John was good after 
            he left.  I hated Paul, that stoned ****** ****. 
 
   What makes this interesting is Penn's remarks were passing through 
the 
   AOL moderator, and AOL's Terms of Service prohibit words Penn wanted 
to 
   use.
 
   It starts like this:
 
P Jillette: I'll take all questions, what the hell are we waiting for.
P Jillette: I'm in the desert and I've got a Tony Bennet concert and a 
            strip show to go to.  Let's get this reactor on fucking 
line.  
 
Question: First, what kind of cardiovascular program are you on? You are 
          going to have a hear attack.  Second, will I be as cool as you
          if I got those shelves you have in your office?
 
P Jillette: I dug it. I eat 5% of calories from Fat and I'm in "The 
            Zone" 35 minutes a day.  My heart kicks ***.   
P Jilette:  Hey, who's censoring me? I thought *** would be okay. What 
            about ****?
 
 
   [ He starts doing it on purpose: ]
 
Question:   How did you decide on a career in magic? 
P Jillette: We thought since everyone ***** in magic that we could be 
            noticed.
Question:   Have you and Teller ever tried to make David Copperfield 
            disappear?
P Jillette: Copperfield is in a different biz from us, he's doing magic, 
            last I heard.  We're kicking  ******* ***.
 
P Jillette: Josh, say ******* something. 
Josh Quit:  can you do a trick for us, Penn?
P Jillette: The computer shows get a little rougher.  I say ************ 
            even.
Josh Quit:  levitate me.
P Jillette: That was a private message to Josh, can't I swear to Josh?
 
P Jillette: I loved "Lois and Clark"  Great ****   She has a great **** 
            of ****.
 
Question:   Penn-We're worried about your health. Do you have a 
            work-outprogram?
P Jillette: WHO is censoring me! Yeah, I work out every day and I eat 
            smart.  I've just lost 22. But who cares?  stop ****** 
            censoring me.
 
Question:   Penn, how about an article for WiReD? 
Josh Quit:  yeah, you can say *** and ****.
 
Question:    Penn - you and Teller sure make great Christmas presents. 
             Anythingneat planned for this year you could share with us?
P Jillette:  Talk to the Cubans risking their lives to live in the 
landof 
             the free. Talk to them about Fat boy. What did you see this 
             Xmas, nipple tape?  How did you see it?  
 
P Jillette:  Maybe you haven't read the constitution. 
 
Question:    Okay, so where's Teller?  Will he be doing stuff like this?
P Jillette:  Teller has done one of these before and we're going to 
start 
             doing them often.  Probably on CompuServe where they don't 
             have a moderator.
 
Amazingly, Penn's statement "Let's get this reactor on fucking line" 
appears in the transcript AOL made available online.  AOL's Terms of
Service even prohibit profanity masked by symbols, so the entire
transcript violates their own rules. 
 
Finally, the first entry in Jennifer Finch's Lollapalooza Tour Journal 
to
be made available on AOL, which she was keeping as part of a record
company promotion. 
 
7/9
Hey, So here I am in Denver with an evening off with every good 
intention of
writting out a tour diary ( a "log" if you will) but wouldn't you know 
it,
Star Trek is on...
 
                                                    [end part II]
 




                                         



Archive-name: online-providers/aol-sucks-faq/part3


*** FAQ (Part III - alt.aol-sucks ) ***

Is this a flame newsgroup?
 
    YES.
 
That's not what the review said in news.groups.reviews.
 
    It was a troll.
 
 
It was not!
 
    It was too.  Someone noticed that news.groups.reviews was one of the 
    default newsgroups AOL made available to its users.  They added a 
    review of alt.aol-sucks, so the very first newsgroup new users would 
    come across would point to one criticizing AOL.  News.groups.reviews 
was
    so poorly posted to, that for a while it was the only message in the 
    newsgroup!
 
 
What did the review say?
 
    "Originally started to flame users of America Online (AOL) about 
    software bugs in AOL's Usenet reader, this newsgroup has evolved 
into
    a surprisingly high-level and thoughtful discussion.
 
    Besides comparisons of online services, tips on internet access
    providers, and the inevitable debate about UNIX interfaces,
    newsgroup topics have included GUI's vs. command lines,
    how to perform high-level internet functions like FTP using
    conventional e-mail, software bugs, and rot-13 message-coding.
 
    This newsgroup provides a good glimpse into the evolution of
    the internet community as a whole, and where commercial on-line 
    services fit in the scheme."                              
 
 
Okay.  So where is it written that the discussion on alt.aol-sucks is 
actually going to reach flame intensity?
 
     On AOL.  They renamed the newsgroup "Flames and complaints about 
     AOL".
 
 
What about the innocent AOL-ers who wander in to alt.aol-sucks, and find
furious discussion with venomous scatalogical attacks, and gets really
uncomfortable?
 
     "You may find that in certain Newsgroups, the participants use
     language and discuss subject matter that would not be acceptable on
     America Online....you may choose to avoid certain Newsgroups if you 
     are uncomfortable with the discussion that takes place in them."
 
                                  ---America Online's "Note about 
Content"
 
 
If the book editor for "In These Times" read the newsgroup, what would 
he 
say?
 
    He's probably got more important things to do.
 
 
I bet he doesn't.
 
    I bet he does.
 
 
I bet he doesn't.
 
    I bet he does---whoops.  You're right!  He doesn't. He wrote a whole 
    article about it in the October 31 issue.
 
 
So what's his opinion of alt.aol-sucks
 
    "The regular contributors to the group (called, appropriately
     enough, "alt.aol-sucks") are masters of the art of 'flaming'..."
 
    "...the only purpose of the group was to let Net veterans (and 
     would-be veterans) pick on hapless AOL newbies."
 
 
I heard he posted to the newsgroup shortly after his article appeared.  
What did he say?
 
     "Please be more specific.  Blow *what* out my ass?"
 
 
This sounds okay.  I just want to have fun with people.
 
     "alt.aol-sucks offers only a poor parody of real human 
interaction."
             --David Futrelle    (Book Editor, "In These Times")
 
 
Is that true?
 
     Some believe the sanitized offerings on AOL are more of a parody.  
     They restrict what words you can use, and what you can say.         
 
 
 Why do the anti-AOLers feel free speech is so important?
 
    Anything to control what you speak, say or do is, according to the
    anti-AOLers, not right.  People should be free to express themself.  
The
    level to which the AOL staff attempts to control your speech is
    ridiculous.  
 
You can always attack someone on AOL if you're really angry. 
 
      No.  "Personal attacks against other members are soundly 
prohibited."
                      
 
That's an AOL rule?
 
     Yes.  AOL's Terms of Service.
               
 
They're that specific?
 
     Yes.  AOL's Terms of Service outline a long list of behaviors which 
     aren't permitted on AOL. 
        
    "Any action by a Member that, in AOL, Inc.'s sole opinion, restricts 
or
     inhibits other Members from using and enjoying America Online (such 
as
     but not limited to, the use of vulgar language; inappropriate 
screen
     names; committing, or discussing with the intention to commit, 
illegal
     activities), is strictly prohibited.  Member specifically agrees 
not to
     submit, publish, or display on America Online any defamatory, 
inaccurate,
     abusive, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, racially 
     offensive, or illegal material; nor shall Member encourage the use 
of 
     controlled substances.
 
 
How could AOL call for a level of discussion that's so...insincere?

     This is a company that signs its form letters "Warm Regards".
                                                
 
So this newsgroup is just flames?

    "Flames and complaints."
                
 
About anything?
 
    They usually have a theme:  they're related to America Online.  
    They also challenge the opinions of people who've made points   
    about America Online.
 
 
I wanted to post a critique of AOL, and dissect the origins of its 
censorship.
 
    It will be welcome.
 
 
But someone might flame me?
 
    Yes.
 
 
Why?
 
    Because we feel like it.
 
 
That's mean.
 
        Bite me.  It's fun.
                          

                                                              [End Part 
III]
                                             


 
