Whats Wrong With Aol?
Quaunaut
The longest seven days in history... Join Date: 2003-03-21 Member: 14759Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
The longest seven days in history... Join Date: 2003-03-21 Member: 14759Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
in Off-Topic
I personally use AOL. And those who've played with me know, my ping is either better, or just as good as theirs. Also, its spam tools are *kinda* good, and free. As well as many other things that are great, such as free music videos, along with many songs, totally for free. Really, the only problem I see is no ability to be on 100% of the time, which I'd like personally, so I don't have to waste CPU on the program.
So, why do you hate them? Cause they give all the 'free' stuff to their customers? Every company does that, so don't put that here. Tell me, what do you think?
(note: I have AOL for Broadband)
So, why do you hate them? Cause they give all the 'free' stuff to their customers? Every company does that, so don't put that here. Tell me, what do you think?
(note: I have AOL for Broadband)
Comments
Note to others: I just proved to CForrester you can. He wasn't pwned- he was taught. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
You mean that all that use it are nubs to the internet/gaming/www world?
for my case, it was true... and well, dang them and their parental controls.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->"Whats a forum?"
"Its another name for a message board."
"Whats a message board?"
"Its....well, you post something, and someone else replies to whatever you put..."
"You mean like a chatroom?"
"No, its on a webpage, and it updates when you press refresh"
"Whats refresh"
"Uhh...."<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
There's the logging on stuff to, bah.
With dial-up, back when I had it, there was the 'dropping your service for no damn reason' or the 'dropping your service for inactivity' or 'dropping your service because we feel like it' or 'dropping your service due to server overload'....which happened once or twice a day.
There's more, but I fear all the things I've said are probably out-dated, and I don't really have a grudge against AOL really. Just like my Road Runner at home better...AOL beats out my Uni's crappy network 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to 1 .....(with a margin of error = 1).
There's the logging on stuff to, bah.
With dial-up, back when I had it, there was the 'dropping your service for no damn reason' or the 'dropping your service for inactivity' or 'dropping your service because we feel like it' or 'dropping your service due to server overload'....which happened once or twice a day.
There's more, but I fear all the things I've said are probably out-dated, and I don't really have a grudge against AOL really. Just like my Road Runner at home better...AOL beats out my Uni's crappy network 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to 1 .....(with a margin of error = 1). <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
8.0 fixed the dropping problem. Almost no drops for me for a LONG time. And thats back when I had dialup(in may, I got DSL), and the interface is great, now that we have 9.0 It was good with 8.0, but now, its damned great. Some of the things I'd like to get rid of, but then again, its less than what IE has.
The protocol stack. It damages the original on install and makes it hell to talk people into getting their internet working (yes I used to do internet tech support for a Summer).
That and the spam, pop-up ads and e-mail spam filters? uh uh, sold to the highest bidder.
The protocol stack. It damages the original on install and makes it hell to talk people into getting their internet working (yes I used to do internet tech support for a Summer).
That and the spam, pop-up ads and e-mail spam filters? uh uh, sold to the highest bidder. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Whadda you mean? They work great for me. Rarely spam is in my actual folder. A few things get filtered as spam taht aren't, but being you can just access the spam folder, BAM, you can get to it anyway. I haven't had any problems with popups, either. Just turn off the 'Blocking Pop-ups' when something is supposed to, then do it again, and bam. And what spam?
*They release new "innovations" like pop-up blocking and spam filter, that were available from every other free browser years before, take crazy browser for example(www.crazybrowser.com I think) came out before netzero. Guess what it had? The best pop-up blocking software, and it still has the best. And that was a long time ago. It came out in about 2000 or earlier. And only this year AOL decided to realease their new pop-up blocker, except they are 4 years late, but since their main customers don't know their hard drive from their ****, they counted on nobody knowing this.
*Oh yeah, they like to charge you twice as much for inferior performance(wow sounds alot like mcdonalds/microsoft/etc)
*They are considered one of the top when performance wise they are VERY low.
*They persuade people to use their software by marketing everything with "easy" written all over it, when almost any other browser is "easy" they just dont paste it everywhere.
*AIM sucks, alot, like ALOT. Icq/Irc beat the crap out of it, yet all the stupids pick to use the "easy" crap.
*It spawned AIM speech, the stupidest, most pathetic things ever created. I harbor an implacable hate for anybody who uses 4 instead of for, or boi instead of boy.
*They take advantage of many of the less then computer literate. Not saying that all aol users are computer iliterate, just most of them.
.
..
...
Thats all I can think of for now, unless you haven't realized I really don't like AOL
Oh yeah, I'm willing to bet that anytime now AOL will release A "new and improved" browser that uses the tab setup(see crazybrowser.com) and just like they always do, call it new.
My favorite nerdy insult is "You can't blame (softwarename) For not working on your emachine with its AOL connection) <!--emo&::nerdy::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/nerd.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd.gif'><!--endemo-->
My family is a great way of explaining why AOL is a bad thing. First there's me, described above. Then there's my younger sister, who learned how to use IE and the internet originally out of necessity to chat with friends via AIM after I banned installing AOL on any machine of the house (I was sick of fixing family members' problems.) Then there's my mother, originally the most clueless to computers in general (the sort of person who needs to take notes on an index card to remember how to boot up and shut down Windows.) I had to teach her how to reach her AOL e-mail through IE at home, and now -- despite NEVER straying from aol.com -- she's even more self-sufficient and knowledgeable than my father.
My father's been using AOL since I started, still uses it every day at the office, and <i>to this day</i> if you ask him to explain the difference between "AOL," "internet service provider," "web browser," and "the internet," the answer you'll get from him is "they're all the same thing, right?" On our home network (which uses always-on DSL and IE instead) he will actually be afraid to close an IE window because as far as his understanding goes, it will make the DSL modem disconnect from the internet. This causes much frustration for both him when using the computer, and me when trying to explain to his stubborn, slow-learning self. I must stress that while he knows more about using applications than my mother, (he knows how to minimize and maximize program windows, for example), he is still at this stage in knowing about the internet -- all thanks to the fact that he still uses AOL as a program.
AOL's "channels," "today stuff," mangling of the web browser interface, and offering of "exclusive content" gives users the delusion that they are accessing the internet. In reality, many AOL users are simply paying a monthly fee to use products, services, and features that are all, with the patience to actually <i>learn</i> the internet, absolutely free. Instant messaging. Download managers. Message boards. Chat rooms. The most AOL can say is worth paying for is "member exclusive content," which (unless something has changed without me knowing) is roughly the exact same news, gossip, and multimedia that can be found at numerous other websites.
"But they can access the web too!" Yes, they can. But learning how to use AOL is not the same as learning how to use the internet, and I'd wager that the vast majority of AOL users are just like my father.
Connection speeds aside, connection problems aside, AOL as a program and a service <i>is</i> easy to use. And for people who intend on truly using the internet to its fullest, that's exactly where it fails. AOL's interface acts as training wheels for the user, muddling the line between the four keywords listed above. For some users, the need for them is obvious. For the rest, the reason to learn independence from them as soon as possible should also be obvious.
And yes, I know, most idiots of internet come from AOL. But at the same time- for those who take the time to learn- AOL actually is pretty damned good. First off- despite what someone else said, webpages load MUCH faster with AOL. I dunno, maybe its the new 'optimizing' or whatever the hell they call it, but for some reason, webpages load faster for me than they do my friend's Speakeasy(768kb\up/down), when my connection is something like 125 up/down. While downloads ARE MUCH FRIGGIN SLOWER, their good enough for me, being that I don't have my own website. I also don't plan on staying with AOL for long, either, cause Speakeasy is generally better(I'd rather have d/l speed and better pings than faster webpages).
Also, actual websurfing is quite quick for me. On these forums, I fly. I can go through 60+% of the forums in under 2 minutes, browsing everything, and posting 3 or 4 times(that also accounts to my typing speed, but mostly to my connection being most posts are under 2 paragraphs). It has every thing I need on it- refresh, back, forward, stop load, open link in new window, save as, print target, print page, print this portion, all my different download utilities(pausers and stuff like that), select all, create shortcut, and all that jazz.
Also, when it comes to taking up RAM- It takes up almost none of my 256mb of RAM. Maybe that accounts to my p4 2.0ghz processor, but my RAM is unaffected at all.
Also, AIM is rather easy to use, if buggy as hell, and many other things. While I think that yahoo is better(and that trillian is the best), I use AIM because, well, with AOL, your constantly on it...so its easier to use for me. IRC is great too, for me, at least.
Also- how do they charge twice as much for inferior performance? I pay $40 a month for this(well, my mom....ya.), which is the same as all the broadband stuff, and even LESS, in my area.
As to the "Member Exclusives"- these days, there are a lot more than there were before. Like the whole sessions@aol, for example. You get exclusive, unplugged performances for free(well, with broadband, anyway). Same with their HUGE(4000+) music library(good for mainstream music), as well as random videos, and stuff like that.
Also with member exclusives, there are some music videos, and songs, that are given to AOL, up to 2 weeks before the rest of the world gets to hear/see. Its pretty nice.
While there are a ton of disadvantages, I think its just as good as many other ISPs, just a bit worse, in 1 area- no online without AOL open.
It turns out that the installer for AOL 6.0 is on a hidden folder on the AOL 7.0 disc - I wonder why. Maybe because they knew their software had major problems. Dad still uses AOL 6. I've, luckily, escaped.
The following is not intended to be read by anyone.
WARNING!
IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED AND / OR AN AOL USER, PLEASE SCROLL TO WHERE IT SAYS <END OF MESSAGE>
WARNING!
If your easily offended, don't play the Starcraft game I made with the AOL ****'s and the infinitely spawning AOL users and the blood and the machine guns and the...
( <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> <CENSORED>)
Okay, this is how it goes:
1. They treat me like a pile o mud that don't know (can I say this word here?)
2. All the stuff they flood me with when I log on makes it so I can't even browse a website without clicking 500 times on the scroll bar.
3. Too much option ****.
4. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
5. All 23 versions are practically the same.
6. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
7. It didn't even give me 14 days free for the ****** The Sims Online game.
8. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
9. The usage of ram freezes my computer up.
10. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
11. Error 404 : Site "Pretty Pink Harmless Non Violent Bunnies" Website Is Blocked. Please Set Parantel Controls.
12. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
13. How do you setup a network on this thing?
14. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
15. THEY REPLACED MY PASSWORD WITH SOMETHING I WASN'T INFORMED ABOUT
16. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
17. YOUR STILL READING THIS? OMG!
18. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
19. I can think of more but AOL has already eatin my time up with slow downloads.
Me v AOL v
<!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::nerdy::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/nerd.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd.gif'><!--endemo-->
<END OF MESSAGE>
Oh yeah, know another great thing about AOL? That when they say you get 1024 hours free? Well just to clue you guys in, its not 1024 hours that you are using it, its the first 1024 hours after you install it. Meaning it cuts off after about a month. Whether you only used it for 5 minutes that entire time, or 24/7. Funny how people don't understand these kinds of things...
The following is not intended to be read by anyone.
WARNING!
IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED AND / OR AN AOL USER, PLEASE SCROLL TO WHERE IT SAYS <END OF MESSAGE>
WARNING!
If your easily offended, don't play the Starcraft game I made with the AOL ****'s and the infinitely spawning AOL users and the blood and the machine guns and the...
( <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> <CENSORED>)
Okay, this is how it goes:
1. They treat me like a pile o mud that don't know (can I say this word here?)
2. All the stuff they flood me with when I log on makes it so I can't even browse a website without clicking 500 times on the scroll bar.
3. Too much option ****.
4. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
5. All 23 versions are practically the same.
6. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
7. It didn't even give me 14 days free for the ****** The Sims Online game.
8. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
9. The usage of ram freezes my computer up.
10. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
11. Error 404 : Site "Pretty Pink Harmless Non Violent Bunnies" Website Is Blocked. Please Set Parantel Controls.
12. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
13. How do you setup a network on this thing?
14. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
15. THEY REPLACED MY PASSWORD WITH SOMETHING I WASN'T INFORMED ABOUT
16. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
17. YOUR STILL READING THIS? OMG!
18. i h a t e 2 8 k c o n n e c t i o n s .
19. I can think of more but AOL has already eatin my time up with slow downloads.
Me v AOL v
<!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::nerdy::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/nerd.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd.gif'><!--endemo-->
<END OF MESSAGE> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well, I've been a AOL user since late 3.0, generally when it was going into 4.0. And I know for a fact, half of everything you said isn't true.
First off, clicking 500 times on the scroll bar? What friggin resolution were you on? And why you the arrows on the scrollbar- GRAB THE DAMN BAR AND MOVE IT!
Ya, the 23 versions are the same. THATS WHY THE UPGRADE IS FREE.
Parental control problems? MAYBE YOUR PARENTS HAD YOU ON KIDS ONLY. Aka, only AOL regulated webpages.
14 free days for the sims online? IT DID GIVE YOU 14 FREE DAYS. AT THE END OF THOSE DAYS, INSTANT CHARGES. See, thats how credit card companies do things, and no one gets mad about that(as well as every other company in the world) whoops.
Also, if they replace your password, and don't call you telling you what it is, that means that you got HACKED, my friend. Not their fault. AOL doesn't screw with passwords unless they can tell that you were being accessed and abused by a outside force, such as a spammer using your e-mail system.
Oh, and setting up a network? IT AINT THAT HARD. You get a LAN cable, connect it. Then, you go through the 'Home Networking Setup' process. Within 5 minutes of setting up(which will be then saved on your PC until AOL is uninstalled, and the registry file is deleted)
Also, if you don't want options, then don't go on the internet, being everything under the sun has them. Oh ya, don't plan on buying a car, either.
Oh, you hate 28k connections? Why not get a 56k modem, or aha, a BROADBAND MODEM LIKE I HAVE? OH MY GOD! ITS POSSIBLE! YES, THATS RIGHT, IT IS!
or, in my terms-
<span style='font-family:Impact'><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'><span style='color:red'>PLEASE, BE NON-HOSTILE. FOR GOD'S SAKE MAN, NO FRIGGIN HOSTILITIES!</span></span></span>
Err....ya. Were nice here, just...don't sound like a AOL nub (ironic, isn't it?)
<!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Thanks for the compliment. Let's continue, then.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->
And yes, I know, most idiots of internet come from AOL. But at the same time- for those who take the time to learn- AOL actually is pretty damned good. First off- despite what someone else said, webpages load MUCH faster with AOL. I dunno, maybe its the new 'optimizing' or whatever the hell they call it, but for some reason, webpages load faster for me than they do my friend's Speakeasy(768kb\up/down), when my connection is something like 125 up/down. While downloads ARE MUCH FRIGGIN SLOWER, their good enough for me, being that I don't have my own website. I also don't plan on staying with AOL for long, either, cause Speakeasy is generally better(I'd rather have d/l speed and better pings than faster webpages).
Also, actual websurfing is quite quick for me. On these forums, I fly. I can go through 60+% of the forums in under 2 minutes, browsing everything, and posting 3 or 4 times(that also accounts to my typing speed, but mostly to my connection being most posts are under 2 paragraphs). It has every thing I need on it- refresh, back, forward, stop load, open link in new window, save as, print target, print page, print this portion, all my different download utilities(pausers and stuff like that), select all, create shortcut, and all that jazz.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->While it's certainly good that AOL has improved in these areas since I last used it, the fact that it loads websites faster than IE these days doesn't surprize me given the shift of importance Microsoft has put on its MSN service over its IE browser post-lawsuits. Most of the above two paragraphs could just as easily apply to other web browsers, with Opera being the quickest example I can think of. Tabbed browsing, back/forward/stop load/etc. (with mouse gestures, mind you), a built-in download manager with pausing, and darn fast website loading speeds are all things I've been enjoying with Opera for the ~8 months I've known about it. I'm not saying that AOL is suddenly "worse" because it's no longer unique in these ways; I'm saying that the now-common nature of these features means they're no longer good "selling points" or reasons to stick with AOL if a more cost-efficient alternative becomes available in the area.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Also, when it comes to taking up RAM- It takes up almost none of my 256mb of RAM. Maybe that accounts to my p4 2.0ghz processor, but my RAM is unaffected at all.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->This, to me, is rather surprizing. But I'll come back to this later, towards the bottom of this post.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Also, AIM is rather easy to use, if buggy as hell, and many other things. While I think that yahoo is better(and that trillian is the best), I use AIM because, well, with AOL, your constantly on it...so its easier to use for me. IRC is great too, for me, at least.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->Glad to see that somewhere along the lines, people opened your eyes to other methods of instant communication. Now take a look around at fellow AOL users and see how many think that AOL's chat rooms and IM service are the <i>only</i> such things available on the internet. Chances are if they do know of alternatives, that "alternative" is Microsoft's messenger service, for which installing is often not even optional -- regardless of what ISP you use.
I won't accuse AOL of <i>discouraging </i>users from learning about equivalent 3rd party software for features such as this. But I will say that if an AOL user has gone to AOL primarily for its simplicity, they're the type of person who will use the most integrated and "it's right there" solution they see, and chances are they won't bother looking for better ways to do the same thing unless forced (refer to example with my sister in previous post) or encouraged (refer to yourself, with whoever/whatever let you know about Trillian and IRC).
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Also- how do they charge twice as much for inferior performance? I pay $40 a month for this(well, my mom....ya.), which is the same as all the broadband stuff, and even LESS, in my area.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> I think we can all agree that both prices and performance are location-specific. I'm not sure where to go from here in terms of debating cost-efficiency and speed comparisons between ISPs; when I was trying out different broadband solutions, I eventually decided to go with the local phone company on the basis that sooner or later, every other ISP would go through them anyway. I didn't need extra ISP-offered e-mail addresses or webspace or whatnot because these are free on hotmail, yahoo, any equivalent of geocities... You can probably see where I'm going with this. This is just a parallel to my previous statement that many of AOL's features are freely available elsewhere; I suppose it applies to more user-friendliness-aimed ISPs than just AOL.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->
As to the "Member Exclusives"- these days, there are a lot more than there were before. Like the whole sessions@aol, for example. You get exclusive, unplugged performances for free(well, with broadband, anyway). Same with their HUGE(4000+) music library(good for mainstream music), as well as random videos, and stuff like that.
Also with member exclusives, there are some music videos, and songs, that are given to AOL, up to 2 weeks before the rest of the world gets to hear/see. Its pretty nice.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->D'oh, you may have just partially disproven my "you can get all the same stuff free elsewhere" generalization. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> This is something new I wasn't aware of. Quick, someone go crazy with google searches and prove me right again by finding the same content elsewhere! <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->While there are a ton of disadvantages, I think its just as good as many other ISPs, just a bit worse, in 1 area- no online without AOL open.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->And here we return to system resources. Call it performance-mongering, but when I start a game, streaming radio/video (digitallyImported, OhMyTrance, ETS global = 3 of my fave <i>and free</i> channels), or anything similarly resource-intensive, I like to know that I have the freedom to close as many unrelated (must...not..use...word..."useless" for respectful debating <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> ) programs as possible.
But ya. You could probably find pirated AOL stuff outside though.
And ever since 9.0, performance for me has been particularly well. I think the taking of system resources when minimized is WAAAAAAY down. I'd swear its in hibernation mode or something, how good it is.
old skool sh*t, mothaf***aaaaahh
Hey- READ THE BIG RED TEXT. NO HOSTILITIES. NO IDIOT-NESS. OKIEDOKIE?!
That explains a lot. If you ever try AOL dialup, you'll know why everyone hates it. Its software automatically disconnects you if you don't use it for some time -- like in the middle of a good game of Natural Selection for example. It also severely limits your bandwidth to save money. This makes little difference to the moms and dads who use the internet to check and send some e-mail, but to hardcore gamers and professional geeks, it's annoying and stupid. Not to mention it costs 2-3x as much as many ISPs are nowadays. (AOL is ~25 p/m while NetZero is only $10 p/m).
As I understood it, the Gecko engine was what was integrated. Gecko is used by Mozilla and Mozilla-Firebird as well as Netscape (I think). And Firebird <i>is</i> the favorite browser of many a forum goer.
For a while I kinda didn't dislike AOL so much, because they kept sending my these DVD-ish cases that were very usefull; and the CDs put on pretty show in the microwave too. But as I recall, AOL makes switching to another service as painful as possible. I've heard things ranging from continued billing after switching to annother service, to being routed through an AOL callcenter untill you give up. Frankly I've just never recommended it because of cost (For dialup, I highly recommend an ISP called Highstream.net, if it is available).