AOL is dead, long live AOL

I have actually been a member of America Online since the early 90's. Despite having gotten a cable modem, outside email services and having no real need for AOL for close to 5 years now, I've stayed with them. Why? Because of the people. AOL's content was people. In its numerous online communicates folks gathered to help eachother out with problems, answer questions and to provide support. It was a very human experience, a neighborhood system for the internet. There could be 25 million users on AOL, but you could know actually know the couple of hundred around you in your little community.

Since the service began, these little areas were lead by "hosts" and "leaders" who orchestrated the chats and helped to answer questions. Despite what most people thought, these people were not employed by AOL... they were volunteers. Folks, like myself, who would devote a couple of hours a week to answer questions. What did these volunteers ask for in return? Nothing but a conduit for helping people.

For reasons I'll probably never understand, AOL no longer feels that it needs these unpaid volunteers. As of June 8th, the "community leader" program will be discontinued and with it, all that's left of AOL's communities. I'll no longer be answering questions about iMacs and printers and system panics on Sunday nights and I'll no longer get to help people with the cell phones and Palm Pilots on Mondays.

I'll miss AOL because I'll miss the people. I'll miss helping people and the people who helped me out when I had questions. I'll miss the gratitude of the person who we helped get their printer to print, or the lady who knows how to use her iPod now.

I won't be keeping AOL, because without the people, without the communities... there is no AOL. All that's left now is a bunch of outdated, proprietary software. Give me Safari or Firefox, AIM or iChat over AOL's junk any day. Why pay for A when B, C and D are MUCH better and free?

That is some mouth you've got, gift horse...