You should have told them you used Linux! That really freaks them out. Verizon is pretty good [I've had them for 8 years as DSL provider] but just wait ’til you have a problem. The first line support leans heavily on a script to ‘help’ customers, so it’s a real joy to deal with.

When I got my kit, and set it up, I had problems which I had determined were beyond what I could fix. When they asked me to ‘run my disc’ I told them I couldn’t, as it was destroyed in shipping. It was fine, but they got someone there the next day to replace my modem. The tech seemed amazed that I knew how to go into the control panel and set it up. He stayed ’til I hooked up and made a test download. That was the last time I saw anyone from Verizon. They tend to be a lot more hands-off these days.

“…do not doubt for a moment that their nature was predatory and society has a habit of letting them run rampant for a while before it clamps down on them.”

I’d like to doubt it, but I can’t. Society has tried to “clamp down on AOL” many times in the form of lawsuits against them for insider trading and fraud, cancellation problems, customer overbilling, and other issues. Their “Data Valdez” last summer (meme courtesy of Michael Arrington, of course) actually earned them a public rebuke from Congress. The EFF and several private individuals in CA sued them for it, and numerous attorney generals have been after them in the last few years for the same old problems yet again. Nothing ever changes.

They “Yes” everyone to death, apologize for this outrage and that wrongdoing, deny or refuse to admit culpability for their other mistakes, and keep laughing all the way to the bank.

Their speciality is taking advantage of newbies to the Internet. People who are like a blank slate that they can write anything on.

Their tech support is horribly trained (”Turn on the computer–click the AOL icon–restart AOL–reinstall the program”), their prices are outrageous, their software is slow and resource-hogging, and they make everything–from unnstalling AOL to canceling the service–nearly impossible to get done.

I have tech support/IT guys who rely on *me* for advice because I’m one of the few people who’s not only studied their software, but practically reverse-engineered it to write about it on my website so others can learn from my foibles with it.

The same with cancellation. I’ve spent years studying it from every angle and comparing it to my own experience canceling AOL (it was a nightmare) to give people the best tips I can to cancel it without getting charged for it once they hang up.

AOL’s “Retention Specialists” handle the cancellation phone calls. They are trained to talk you into keeping the account *and* buying more goodies to go with it. They are discouraged, if not outright prohibited, from allowing people to cancel. The state of their company–how they train their staff and perpetuate a culture that’s designed to prey on and “consume” the consumers–outrages me to this day.

I actually chose to use Verizon’s Yahoo service for one reason. My wife is a music nut and loves Launchcast, so being able to use Launchcast Plus for free is great. They also offer free antivirus and such though I prefer to use (dare I say) AOL/Kapersky.

Well Aaron, I used to smoke cigarettes and I had a drinking problem but I did finally quit smoking and drinking. What can I say? I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. :)