Millions of users have unsubscribed from AOL services in recent times, but Barbara Borchers has decided to remain loyal to this ISP.
Even after switching to a broadband service from another provider, she still chooses to pay AOL $14.95 each month, primarily to keep her email address that she has used for nearly a decade, and also because she has always appreciated AOL’s technical support team.
However, as of yesterday, Borchers was on the verge of joining the list of users saying goodbye to AOL. The reason? A recent decision by the company, for the first time in the history of ISPs, to insert ads into the email of paying subscribers.
“I don’t want to switch to another email service, but I will have to if they don’t end this terrible decision immediately,” Borchers stated firmly.
Customers “Rise Up”
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| Source: Untitledstates |
Borchers is not alone. Across numerous blogs, discussion forums, and interviews, AOL subscribers have vocally protested this ad policy, labeling it with terms like “intrusive, unwanted, irritating, disruptive… etc.”
“These are animated ads. They keep flashing continuously while you try to read the email content. It’s like having someone jump in and sit right in front of you,” Borchers said. She began experiencing this annoyance last week.
Ads appear right below the content of the email, just as they have in AOL Mail for many years. However, for users like Borchers, inserting them directly into the content of the email is simply crossing the line.
“Ads can appear anywhere, but as paying subscribers, we need to be able to read our email completely free of ads, right?”
Rebecca Monteiro, a loyal AOL subscriber since 1997, also plans to terminate her contract immediately. “It’s no different from them inserting a commercial jingle into your phone conversation,” Monteiro said. “But the worst part is that they are right there in our private emails – that’s the last place I expect to see a banner ad.”
Policy Reassessment
B.J. Brooks, an AOL subscriber for over 10 years, is also considering switching email services. “If you pay for a service, no one wants to be treated like this.” Why should one pay AOL when there are no benefits or perks? That is the common question echoing in the minds of all AOL customers, whether new or longstanding.
AOL has employed proprietary version 9.0 access software to display these unwanted ads inside customers’ inboxes. According to a spokesperson, AOL has “surveyed customers and found that displaying banner ads alongside regular emails does not bother them.”
She also asserted that ads are not inserted into the content of the emails, meaning AOL does not “snoop” on customers’ personal information.
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