AOL has a neat twist if you decide to cancel your account - they block logins to their AIM service using the screen names from AOL. If you want to keep those names, they offer something called "AOL light" for 4.95 a month - sort of extortion money to preserve your screen name.
Oddly enough, I have a master screen name from an old AOL account that was cancelled, and it works fine. I am guessing this policy is a new one, implemented since they started hemorrhaging users.
Update: As if killing my screen name wasn't enough, now I am getting AOL telemarketing calls, trying to get me to come back. Uh, here's a clue - no chance.
Update: today (1/10) I received a nice letter from AOL which bigins thus:
Dear ......:
On behalf of America Online, Inc., thank you for agreeing to continue your subscription with AOL.....
This letter confirms that on 12/30/2004 you agreed to continue your AOL service.
Okay you lying sacks of shit, I did not agree to continue my AOL service. After spending 45 minutes on the phone with your vampire tech rep from hell convincing her that I really, really didn't want any of the 128 different plan variations you offer, there is no fucking way I would decide that I didn't mean it after all and you can keep leaching my bank account at $15 per month for a service I no longer use.
Keep it up, fucktards, and you will feel the wrath of my legal nazgul.
Posted on January 7, 2005 09:52 PM