Notice RE: AOL E-mail Accounts

**Derek Zeanah** · September 19, 2011, 11:16 AM

We are instituting a ban on AOL e-mail addresses. This is effective immediately for new users. ~~, and will become effective for all users by the end of the year.~~

We are doing this because we continue to receive abuse e-mails from AOL. Basically, every day of late we've received notices that AOL believes our e-mails are spam. This includes registration e-mails, "thanks for joining" e-mails, PM notification e-mails, and subscription notifications.

We don't really understand why this is happening -- we believe it to be recent changes on AOL's end, though it could be related to the recent change in e-mail server IP addresses. Regardless, we are now legitimately concerned that AOL's automated procedures will result in loss of our ability to e-mail our members, and we'd like to get ahead of the problem.

This affects ~~more than 8,000 of you~~ only new members, and we are sorry for the inconvenience. This isn't something we do lightly; rather, AOL's spam reduction efforts are affecting our ability to perform basic services for our members, and we feel we have no choice.

There are dozens of free e-mail providers out there. Three that I have positive experiences with are:

Note that at least with Gmail, you can configure the service to automatically forward mails on to your primary (AOL) account.

MMCSRET · September 19, 2011, 05:13 PM

That's very interesting!! I've been using the same email acct at AOL since 1992 and have never heard this before, distressing but I will choose the road to follow, not have someone else choose it for me.

**JShirley** · September 19, 2011, 05:24 PM

As Derek said, this is a relatively recent change, but it's happening regularly now for member-requested emails and regular traffic.

dprice3844444 · September 19, 2011, 05:25 PM

derek,sent ya some aol contact number at corporate

**Derek Zeanah** · September 19, 2011, 05:27 PM

Awesome. I'll send them an e-mail with a description of our problems, and will follow up by e-mail next week.

(Ignore that PM response. I thought you were sending your own contact info and I was confused...)

N003k · September 19, 2011, 10:38 PM

Just to clarify in case this still happens, will changing ones email address to an alternative source still lead to eventual account deletion?

**JShirley** · September 19, 2011, 11:17 PM

No. As long as the email address we have for you is not AOL- even if you originally used AOL to register- you're fine.

WardenWolf · September 19, 2011, 11:38 PM

I wouldn't at all be surprised if AOL was discriminating against THR because they're anti-gun and deliberately spamcanning your emails OR simply refusing to help you fix it.

**Mal H** · September 19, 2011, 11:48 PM

That's a distinct possibility, WW.

N003k - let me emphasize, we are not against AOL, and certainly not against their users one bit, just their email system. It is jeopardizing our ability to communicate effectively with all members, and have them communicate with us.

I'm sure everyone can understand our frustration when you realize that we receive emails from AOL saying we are "abusing" one of their members by sending them a subscription notice for a thread subscription they, themselves, have requested! (The default subscription mode is no subscriptions at all. So any member who receives a notice has to have requested it, none are automatic.)

We even get AOL abuse notices for the short "Welcome to THR" email that is sent out to new members! Ludicrous!

N003k · September 19, 2011, 11:59 PM

Oh, don't worry! I don't feel discriminated against, nor am I upset, with anyone other than AOL anyways. I use it but, Gmail is my main email now. Just wanted to make sure there werent two classes of emails in the system, and that the fact I registered with AOL meant I was gonna get caught up in any potential deletions.

If I actually PAID for AOL, I'd probably go ahead and write them an email, but since they don't even let me get technical support last I knew, I highly doubt they'd care.

**Derek Zeanah** · January 10, 2012, 11:47 AM

Yesterday we had another abuse complaint from AOL.

Someone registered in September, apparently dug through his mailbox to find the original registration e-mail (dated September) yesterday, then reported us for abuse.

This stuff really happens. But mostly with AOL members, for some reason.

WardenWolf · January 10, 2012, 03:14 PM

You'll appreciate this, Derek. The guy who used to run a certain joke site posted a hilarious spoof on his site, that actually snowballed into a virus hoax:

http://www.symantec.com/security_res...537-99&tabid=2

As he put it, the absolute stupidest people on the Internet almost invariably have "aol.com" at the rear-end of their email address, and he, too, wound up completely banning AOL email addresses from his site.

JackSaxet · January 10, 2012, 06:02 PM

WardenWolf may be right. AOL recently merged with Huffington Post and just recently most of the AOL pages have changed their look to include a HuffPo header.

I have been an AOL user since forever as I travelled a lot and AOL was available everywhere I went. I do have other email accounts, but my AOL address is the one everyone I know uses to get in touch with me.

No problem switching over to Yahoo, if this "issue" is not resolved.

**Mal H** · January 10, 2012, 07:39 PM

Unless you need to switch, JackSaxet, you don't have to. Established members using AOL do not have to change their current email address. The restriction only applies to new users.

JackSaxet · January 11, 2012, 09:45 AM

Thanks. Good to know. I was responding to this part of your post:

"....and will become effective for all users by the end of the year."

**Mal H** · January 11, 2012, 04:48 PM

Thanks for the reminder. With Derek's consent, I have corrected the initial post here, redacting the erroneous statements.

September 19, 2011, 11:16 AM	#1
Derek Zeanah System Administrator Join Date: December 20, 2002 Location: Statesboro, Georgia Posts: 6,516	Notice RE: AOL E-mail Accounts We are instituting a ban on AOL e-mail addresses. This is effective immediately for new users. ~~, and will become effective for all users by the end of the year.~~ We are doing this because we continue to receive abuse e-mails from AOL. Basically, every day of late we've received notices that AOL believes our e-mails are spam. This includes registration e-mails, "thanks for joining" e-mails, PM notification e-mails, and subscription notifications. We don't really understand why this is happening -- we believe it to be recent changes on AOL's end, though it could be related to the recent change in e-mail server IP addresses. Regardless, we are now legitimately concerned that AOL's automated procedures will result in loss of our ability to e-mail our members, and we'd like to get ahead of the problem. This affects ~~more than 8,000 of you~~ only new members, and we are sorry for the inconvenience. This isn't something we do lightly; rather, AOL's spam reduction efforts are affecting our ability to perform basic services for our members, and we feel we have no choice. There are dozens of free e-mail providers out there. Three that I have positive experiences with are: Gmail Hotmail Yahoo Note that at least with Gmail, you can configure the service to automatically forward mails on to your primary (AOL) account. __________________ Secret courts, secret court orders, rubber stamped approvals. Gag orders on anybody coming in contact with said secret court orders. Where are we? Khmer Rouge Cambodia? Because it sure does not sound like the Land Of The Free. -- Another poster on another site Last edited by Mal H; January 11, 2012 at 04:47 PM. Reason: Corrected statements concerning established members.

September 19, 2011, 05:24 PM	#3
JShirley Administrator Join Date: December 20, 2002 Location: DC Posts: 17,196	As Derek said, this is a relatively recent change, but it's happening regularly now for member-requested emails and regular traffic. __________________ Evil looms. Cowboy up.-Larry Correia NEVER send money to this person! "Civil talk leads to civic action."- Sandra Day O'Connor

September 19, 2011, 05:27 PM	#5
Derek Zeanah System Administrator Join Date: December 20, 2002 Location: Statesboro, Georgia Posts: 6,516	Awesome. I'll send them an e-mail with a description of our problems, and will follow up by e-mail next week. (Ignore that PM response. I thought you were sending your own contact info and I was confused...) __________________ Secret courts, secret court orders, rubber stamped approvals. Gag orders on anybody coming in contact with said secret court orders. Where are we? Khmer Rouge Cambodia? Because it sure does not sound like the Land Of The Free. -- Another poster on another site

September 19, 2011, 11:17 PM	#7
JShirley Administrator Join Date: December 20, 2002 Location: DC Posts: 17,196	No. As long as the email address we have for you is not AOL- even if you originally used AOL to register- you're fine. __________________ Evil looms. Cowboy up.-Larry Correia NEVER send money to this person! "Civil talk leads to civic action."- Sandra Day O'Connor

September 19, 2011, 11:38 PM	#8
WardenWolf Member Join Date: November 11, 2008 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 5,129	I wouldn't at all be surprised if AOL was discriminating against THR because they're anti-gun and deliberately spamcanning your emails OR simply refusing to help you fix it. __________________ Heart of the guardian, way of the warden, path of the exile. Autistic Gun Owner Asperger's does NOT cause violence.

September 19, 2011, 05:13 PM	#2
MMCSRET Member Join Date: February 18, 2008 Location: North Central Montana, across the Wide Missouri Posts: 2,937	That's very interesting!! I've been using the same email acct at AOL since 1992 and have never heard this before, distressing but I will choose the road to follow, not have someone else choose it for me.

September 19, 2011, 05:25 PM	#4
dprice3844444 Member Join Date: February 26, 2011 Location: se fla i love claymores Posts: 2,874	derek,sent ya some aol contact number at corporate

September 19, 2011, 10:38 PM	#6
N003k Member Join Date: November 21, 2008 Location: Connecticut Posts: 639	Just to clarify in case this still happens, will changing ones email address to an alternative source still lead to eventual account deletion?

September 19, 2011, 11:48 PM	#9
Mal H Administrator Join Date: December 20, 2002 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern VA Posts: 14,537	That's a distinct possibility, WW. N003k - let me emphasize, we are not against AOL, and certainly not against their users one bit, just their email system. It is jeopardizing our ability to communicate effectively with all members, and have them communicate with us. I'm sure everyone can understand our frustration when you realize that we receive emails from AOL saying we are "abusing" one of their members by sending them a subscription notice for a thread subscription they, themselves, have requested! (The default subscription mode is no subscriptions at all. So any member who receives a notice has to have requested it, none are automatic.) We even get AOL abuse notices for the short "Welcome to THR" email that is sent out to new members! Ludicrous!

September 19, 2011, 11:59 PM	#10
N003k Member Join Date: November 21, 2008 Location: Connecticut Posts: 639	Oh, don't worry! I don't feel discriminated against, nor am I upset, with anyone other than AOL anyways. I use it but, Gmail is my main email now. Just wanted to make sure there werent two classes of emails in the system, and that the fact I registered with AOL meant I was gonna get caught up in any potential deletions. If I actually PAID for AOL, I'd probably go ahead and write them an email, but since they don't even let me get technical support last I knew, I highly doubt they'd care.

January 10, 2012, 11:47 AM	#11
Derek Zeanah System Administrator Join Date: December 20, 2002 Location: Statesboro, Georgia Posts: 6,516	Yesterday we had another abuse complaint from AOL. Someone registered in September, apparently dug through his mailbox to find the original registration e-mail (dated September) yesterday, then reported us for abuse. This stuff really happens. But mostly with AOL members, for some reason. __________________ Secret courts, secret court orders, rubber stamped approvals. Gag orders on anybody coming in contact with said secret court orders. Where are we? Khmer Rouge Cambodia? Because it sure does not sound like the Land Of The Free. -- Another poster on another site

January 10, 2012, 03:14 PM	#12
WardenWolf Member Join Date: November 11, 2008 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 5,129	You'll appreciate this, Derek. The guy who used to run a certain joke site posted a hilarious spoof on his site, that actually snowballed into a virus hoax: http://www.symantec.com/security_res...537-99&tabid=2 As he put it, the absolute stupidest people on the Internet almost invariably have "aol.com" at the rear-end of their email address, and he, too, wound up completely banning AOL email addresses from his site. __________________ Heart of the guardian, way of the warden, path of the exile. Autistic Gun Owner Asperger's does NOT cause violence.

January 10, 2012, 06:02 PM	#13
JackSaxet Member Join Date: July 1, 2010 Posts: 5	AOL changes WardenWolf may be right. AOL recently merged with Huffington Post and just recently most of the AOL pages have changed their look to include a HuffPo header. I have been an AOL user since forever as I travelled a lot and AOL was available everywhere I went. I do have other email accounts, but my AOL address is the one everyone I know uses to get in touch with me. No problem switching over to Yahoo, if this "issue" is not resolved.

January 10, 2012, 07:39 PM	#14
Mal H Administrator Join Date: December 20, 2002 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern VA Posts: 14,537	Unless you need to switch, JackSaxet, you don't have to. Established members using AOL do not have to change their current email address. The restriction only applies to new users.

January 11, 2012, 09:45 AM	#15
JackSaxet Member Join Date: July 1, 2010 Posts: 5	AOL changes Thanks. Good to know. I was responding to this part of your post: "....and will become effective for all users by the end of the year."

January 11, 2012, 04:48 PM	#16
Mal H Administrator Join Date: December 20, 2002 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern VA Posts: 14,537	Thanks for the reminder. With Derek's consent, I have corrected the initial post here, redacting the erroneous statements.