It was the summer of 1994. I had managed to install a 2400-baud modem in my PC running DOS 6.22 (no easy task in itself, ever heard of a DMA interrupt?) and was feeling my oats. I plugged the 3 1/2" floppy containing AOL 2.0 into the slot and began the install.
The software found my modem and dialed an 800 number. About a half-hour later, I was a full-fledged AOL member with my very first email address (renderland@aol.com, go ahead and harvest that one, spambots ;-).
AOL ran quickly enough over the old modem, but when I upgraded to a 14,400 later that year, it absolutely screamed. I soon began accumulating many free hours by referring friends. I didn't feel a bit guilty doing so, because it was worth every penny I paid for it (around 25 bucks a month).
I picked up quite a few gigs as a fledgling penman via the Writer's Area. There were the freebies at first, followed by gigs that paid modest fees.
When I wanted to kill a little extra free time, I searched through the profiles. In those freewheeling days, people would post lots of information about themselves, AND answer polite emails! Thus I exchanged correspondence with the great columnist Mike Royko and Dodger reliever (formerly Cardinal) Todd Worrell, among others.
When I got Windows 95, I also surfed the web via a direct dial-up. The web was a vast, uncharted territory, according to AOL. They couldn't be held responsible for any virii contained in files that you obtained from archie searches, one of the few internet services that they offered then. Pretty scary stuff.
So I was careful as I visited websites. I don't recall what software I gingerly downloaded and tried, but I was careful. And I also didn't run any virus scanner back then. Simply being careful would get you by in those days.
When AOL allowed web access, that made it immensely more useful. I soon learned that I could connect up to AOL and surf the web with Netscape instead of the funky browser that AOL offered.
The unlimited access disaster cost AOL many long-time users, including myself. Prior to this, you were very judicious in how much time you spent connected, knowing that once you crossed the 20-hour mark, things would begin getting VERY expensive. Suddenly, you could connect up (if you had a separate phone line, like I did) and forget about it! And many AOLers did just that. Thus, the incessant sound of busy signals over our modem speakers.
So now came the dreaded process of dropping my membership. It involved speaking to a human who did indeed try to talk me out of it. But it only took a couple of minutes to convince him that I was sincere. Thus ended a year-long relationship with AOL.
Nowadays, AOL is in trouble. Bad public perception of "your grandmother's ISP" along with readily available and affordable access to the web have combined to cause the former powerhouse to swoon. It will take some massive reinvention of just what it is that AOL means and what it provides to save them.
It's not that I feel sorry for them. They have sucked for some time. And the way they do the hard sell when users try to quit is the stuff of legend.
But I have fond memories of the kinder, gentler, more personable AOL of 1994. If the company is to survive, that perception will have to return.
Frankly, I think Microsoft has a better chance of getting that rep than today's AOL.
