america online is a scam

In the last week, hundreds of thousands of us spoke out against AOL's "email tax." And, with your help, our diverse DearAOL.com coalition has jumped from 50 organizations to 500.

Now, AOL is striking back with an active misinformation campaign against their own customers and the public. One AOL support representative even claimed that our emails were a scam—and told the customer to block future emails from MoveOn (you can read the live chat transcript below).

We're writing to set the record straight. So take a look at the "myth and reality" points below—and then please tell AOL to stop misleading their customers and stop their pay-to-send proposal.

Help reach our goal of 7,000 contacts to AOL by clicking here:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1529&id=7004-3787499-eLg7XENpVIAiV0wUzT7iLg&t=3

Please tell AOL we will not accept anybody paying to bypass spam filters—it's wrong to sell access to people's inboxes, and everyone who doesn't pay will get inferior service. We know the truth and we're pushing back.

Here are 3 myths that AOL hopes the public will believe:

MYTH #1: Nothing will change for those who don't pay to send.

REALITY: This weekend, the Silicon Valley-based San Jose Mercury News wrote an editorial entitled, "Paid e-mail will lead to separate, unequal systems; Free systems will become neglected." Here is an excerpt:

[AOL's pay-to-send system] is likely to work as an incentive for AOL to move as many senders as possible to the paid system...the temptation would be to neglect the free e-mail system, whose reliability would decline. Eventually, everyone would migrate to the fee-based system. There would be no way around the AOL tollbooth. [Read the full editorial at http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1522]

MYTH #2: AOL's pay-to-send system will reduce spam.

REALITY: AOL doesn't even claim its pay-to-send proposal would reduce spam—because it won't. Just the opposite, AOL wants to let commercial emailers pay to bypass spam filters. This creates a perverse incentive for AOL to err on the side of letting more unwanted emails into their customers' inboxes.

About this conflict of interest, the San Jose Mercury News editorialized, "why doesn't AOL announce it will forgo the fees—a decision that would help silence critics? AOL won't say."

MYTH #3: Nonprofits would not be hurt by AOL's email tax.

REALITY: Those who pay AOL's email tax would get guaranteed delivery, but everyone left behind would get increasingly unreliable service. Last Friday, AOL tried to create the illusion of responsiveness. They repackaged an already existing feature for nonprofits as if it was new, and then tried to divide our coalition by giving special email privileges to some "qualified" nonprofits while leaving other nonprofits, charities, small businesses, and even community and hobby mailing lists behind.

"I don't take bribes," responded Gilles Frydman, a coalition partner who needs email to run his free online network for cancer patients. "The solution is not AOL offering a few of us service for free in exchange for our silence—the solution is preserving equal access to the free and open Internet for everyone."

Can you help reach our goal of 7,000 contacts with AOL? Tell AOL to stop misleading their customers—we will not accept anybody paying to bypass spam filters because it will destroy the free and open Internet. Click here:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1529&id=7004-3787499-eLg7XENpVIAiV0wUzT7iLg&t=4

–Eli Pariser, Noah T. Winer, Adam Green, and the MoveOn.org Civic Action team
Thursday, March 9th, 2006


EXCERPT OF A LIVE CHAT WITH AOL STAFF





AOL: Hello...Welcome to Live Technical Support. My name is Nezel.

USER: if AOL starts charging ANYONE for mail I will not continue to use the service...Just wanted to tell you.

AOL: I understand that you have received a notice that AOL will be charging you for e-mail...Please send the e-mail to my screen name: AOLTechCNR...

AOL: At this time, I can say that AOL will not be charging you extra for using e-mail feature.

USER: not me, certain groups...

AOL: At this time, AOL will not charge you extra for using e-mail feature alone...I want to check the email...AOLTechCNR@aol.com is my complete e-mail address.

USER: That doesn't answer the question I asked. You said I will not be charged. I asked if groups like MoveOn will be...

AOL: Did you send it?

USER: Yes..do u have it?

AOL: Yes. I got it...That e-mail is a scam...

USER: Its a scam?...really?...

AOL: Yes...It is REALLY a scam mail...Please do block the sender of e-mail from sending e-mail on your AOL account.

USER: I will check into it with MoveOn...

The end.