Subject: Re: AOL in the newsroom From: docdon@pinn.net (Don Taylor) Date: Fri, 19 May 1995 00:58:52 -0500

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Ric:

I wouldn't consider your request off post - which is the best way to get
online access tools for reporters. But there may be other factors to
consider besides the one you posed.  When I evaluated joining the online
services for business purposes, I found their customer service loathsome and
their true costs almost indeterminate. You may not realize that the average
person who uses much of any online service pays far more than the low-ball
entry fee. Most professional users that I've talked to easily chalk up
around $100 a month. Internet direct accounts are more of a fixed cost which
most business cost center managers like. I don't use AOL because they don't
offer me any luxuries I want to justify the "chauffeur-meter" and they don't
give me the unrestricted Internet access I need. Others may not feel the
same way but here are some reports from other newsgroups:

 >  With the requisite freedom needed by members of the press to write about
a variety of topics,
    you may want to ask for specific details about their automated
censorship features. AOL 
    reportedly not only censors specific words such as "transvestite", but
they also reportedly 
    ban euphemisms.

 >  Some additional criteria might include which service:

    1) Allows access to ALL internet newgroups and WWW sites. 

    2) Does not censor or police their conference, message, and e-mail areas
for 
       either language or content (unless you want this). 

    3) Has publicly taken a stand for freedom of speech (since that's your
line of business). 

AOL also has the highest reported incidence of make-money-fast, misplaced
advertising, and breaches of Netiquette. Surprisingly most professional
True.Net groups have less of a problem with these areas without the great
enforcement effort. In fact, they apparently have quite a group of people
ired. There is an alt.aol-sucks newsgroup and here is an anti-AOL web-site I
just heard: http://www.cloud9.net/~jegelhof/.  You might want to check it
out - there may be a story in it. (If not it is a bit humorous.)

Tally hO

    Don

P.S. Your gizmo page looks like you might need access to everything.

At 05:06 PM 5/18/95 EDT, Ric Manning wrote:
>Pardom me if this is off-topic, but I know some of you can help.
>Our editors are leaning toward getting AOL accounts for reporters to use.
>Two main reasons: 1) The price isn't bad  and 2) one account can be split
>among 5 users with each getting an individual e-mail address. They are 
>assuming the AOL will give reporters reasonable access to most of the 
>Internet tools and services that they might need.
>
>My questions: Do you see any major flaws in that approach?  
>Is anybody using AOL in a newsroom setting who could share 
>their opinions on its usefulness?

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 B.   310 Wells Ct                                Hampton, VA 23666-6240 USA
  D.  voice: 804.825.0294  Don Taylor, President      email: docdon@pinn.net
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