Omigod, hide the kids! It's:

1) What is alt.aol-sucks?

Alt.aol-sucks, or a.a-s as it is called, is a Usenet newsgroup. If you don't know what that means, then you're trying to get into college without having attended kindergarten. Read this newbie help page first. A.a-s is pretty wild, heavy on debate, argument, and all out war. So don't bother with it if you're easily offended. This jpg, once posted in a.a-s, actually sums up the goings on quite well. Flame on!

2) Is there an FAQ?

Yep. The original FAQ, which came out around 1995, was written by David Cassel. In 1997, a group of a.a-s regulars, spearheaded by Charles Miller, updated it. Then in 1998, Joe Martinez and J.J. Pearce decided to practically start from scratch and really get into why AOL sucks, as well as tell people about a.a-s. That's the FAQ you're about to see. You can either read it here, now or download it for later viewing:

• alt.aol-sucks FAQ, version 4.0
• Plain text, .zip format
• Plain text, tar/gzip format

3) I hate reading FAQs, why should I bother?

Because as soon as you start asking the same old questions in a.a-s, someone is going to flame you to a crisp. Be safe, read the FAQ, share it with an AOL-using friend.

4) How old is this group?

The control message for a.a-s was sent on June 21, 1994. You can view a copy of it at the Directory of Usenet Control Messages. You'll need Winzip 7.0 or higher to read it though.

5) You guys sure talk weird. What the hell does FOAD mean?

Our language is no stranger than the rest of Usenet. For a searchable list of Usenet acronyms, including FOAD, HAND, and the rest, check out either Acronyms and Abbreviations or Onelook Dictionaries. HTH!

6) a.a-s has a lot of trolls, how do I deal with them?

Trolls, by nature, are looking for attention. Try not to give it to them. See The Troll FAQ for more details.

7) Do you have a list of who the trolls are?

NO! That would just feed their need for attention. Watch the group for a while, they show themselves rather quickly (and sometimes repeatedly). Remember, lurking is your friend.

8) Is there an official a.a-s IRC channel?

Not official, really, but the most popular seems to be #alt.aol-sucks on SorceryNet, where it recently moved from DALnet. Kevin Cannon is an op there, so be sure to say "hello". You can find the SorceryNet home page here.

9) What about anti-AOL web boards and mailing lists?

There is a new web discussion board at Anti-AOL.org. As for mailing lists, David Cassel still runs the 'AOLWATCH' list, a moderated newsletter-style public mailing list which sends out updates about America Online. Send mail to majordomo@aolwatch.org, with the following in the message body:

subscribe aolwatch your@email.address.here

It does not seem to be very active lately, though. Anti-AOL.org has started their own open discussion list. To subscribe send an email to majordomo@anti-aol.org with this in the message body:

subscribe discuss (insert your e-mail address here)

(Dan's note: being an open discussion list, it could have a rather high volume of messages posted to it. Please be aware that you *may* recieve 50 or more mails per day by subscribing to this list.)

10) I keep getting unwanted e-mail from an AOL user. How do I report this?

Most people think that the e-mail address of choice at AOL for Net abuse is TOSAdvisor. This is incorrect, as that particular box is, for some reason or another, usually full. So AOL staffer and a.a-s poster Adam Bailey gave this editor the following:

TOSGeneral               - General TOS inquiries by anyone

abuse@aol.net            - For non-AOL members to report email/usenet 
                           abuse by AOL members

abuse@aol.com            - Same as above, but less reliable (tends be full)

TOSEmail1 and TOSEmail2  - For AOL members to report email abuse by other
                           AOL members (chain letters, UCE, etc.)

TOSIrc                   - To report abuse by AOL users on IRC

AOLLegal                 - For anyone to contact AOL's legal department 
                           about legal issues (not threats)

TOSSpam                  - For AOL users to report spam from outside 
                           sources

Try one or more of them, and please, choose appropriately.

11) Oh yeah, you mentioned some links?

Right here. Check 'em out, or go back up to the Q & A section.

NOTE: We make no warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, timeliness, or quality of the following links. Please report dead links to the editor.

UPDATED: Feb. 29 2000 (Leap Day!!)

Why stop supporting AOL?	AOL Watch
How to Leave AOL	Anti-AOL.org
Why America Online Sucks	America Online Sucks!
AOL: Free Competition or Rigid Government Control?	Freedom of Expression and AOL
AOL ... Why it is Sucks	Observers.net
AOL Child Pornography and Online Predators	The Making of an Underclass: AOL
A Special Note to AOL Users	A Trip to the Darkside: AOL's Browser
You've Got Mail!	Compleat Guide to Finding a Decent ISP
The America Offline Homepage	Inside AOL - No longer Valid
AOL Suckology	Central Notice: Class Action Suits Against AOL

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