AOL Mail Problems

I am no expert on AOL's many mail problems. I know that many newsletters sent to AOL addresses never get delivered, but I am never sure why.

A year or so ago I talked on the phone a number of times with AOL Customer Service and with the AOL Mail Server Support Team about e-mail delivery problems, but neither office could help much. They offered lots of suggestions; some worked and some did not. However, they could not tell me how to reliably deliver a lengthy newsletter to AOL members.

In fact, one AOL Customer Service employee told me that I should write "shorter newsletters" in order to get past AOL's spam mail filters. When asked how short they should be, he suggested that the newsletters be no more than 20 or 30 lines of text!

AOL still confuses me. Some AOL members tell me that they receive the Plus Edition newsletter in e-mail every week; others tell me that they never receive it, and many more tell me that they receive it intermittently. Yet the same exact e-mail newsletter is sent to all AOL members!

Today an AOL member sent an e-mail to me that offers the following insight and a suggestion on how to avoid some of AOL's mail filter problems:

You may be interested to know that the verification message landed in my AOL spam box.

I have only recently learned that I had an AOL spam box, which can be accessed by going to Explorer - we can't find it on AOL. Now I go there frequently to add and subtract [e-mail addresses].

AOL also bounces mail from RootsWeb, so that I am in danger of being unsubscribed from that.

I cannot test the above myself, but I would love to hear from other AOL members about what you did to solve the AOL mail filter problems. If you are an AOL member and can offer suggestions on how to get these newsletters through AOL's mail filter problems, please reply in the Comments Section at the end of this article. I would love to read your suggestions, and I know that many AOL members will appreciate your suggestions, too.

Thank you.

Comments

[Andrew]

I can say that there is no systemic problem with RootsWeb getting mail to AOL.com at this moment. There are times when it can happen, and they are usually resolved in the course of a couple of days. The first level support of Ancestry can be a little generic.

RootsWeb actually set up a self-help mailing list, AOLers-RootsWeb,
http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/RootsWeb_Support/AOLers-RootsWeb.html
for AOL users of RootsWeb to discuss the foibles of the system(s). Reading the list's archives might give some insight to the problems and solutions

Dick, I have some personal email addresses for people deep in the AOL system. Drop me an email and I will forward the details on. They are not the quickest to respond, however, they do so in the end, and they are truly helpful.

[Janet Partridge]

Hi Dick,
I have never had a problem getting my
plus newsletters.
There are email preferences people can
do. Junk mail it is called.
Maybe these persons preferences aren't set correctly for ones to receive them.
I do have to allow all emails to be sent
through. No blocking of any email. I
don't like the junk mail but have to
have to be flexable. Maybe ones that
get your email don't know how to open up
their mail preference. Just a thought.
Have a great day.

[Don Hansen]

Hi Dick,

A couple of years ago I did not receive a couple of plus issues. I do not block any e-mails, and do allow all e-mails to be sent through. The only thing that I did at that time was add your address to my AOL address book. Haven't missed an issue since

Don

[Gay Weston]

Regarding AOL problems: I had problems for awhile, then complained loudly via online help as well as over the phone. The problems seem to have resolved themselves, and I get the newsletter pretty regularly now. I did add the richard@eastman.net address to my addressbook, so don't know if that made a difference or not. I know it is a constant challenge for them to try to filter out the garbage and yet let through stuff we want.

[Linda VanOrden]

Dick,
I have been getting the Plus edition regularly, as well as a notice saying that it was sent and then the next day, the regular edition. I am using AOL 9.0 Optimized SE. If occasionally, it is relegated to my Spam folder, it is easy to find. I always check my Spam before deleting it anyway.

[Elizabeth Odle]

I had some problems with receiving plus newsletter and lots of problems with Ancestry's newsletter.Since being on aol optimized 9 I have not missed a mailing of either newsltter. As others have mentioned I think part of the answer is being sure you have the address of the mailings you want to receive in your address book.

[June Byrne]

Any AOL user should learn how to check their spam folder. In AOL 9.0, click on read mail, then on the tab at the top of the small window which says manage mail. On the left you will see a list of folders. About 3rd or 4th from the top, is the word spam. If you click on spam, it will open the folder and you can see what spam has come past your mailbox. This stays there for just 3 or 4 days and then disappears automatically. I check it every morning and occasionally have found a message that did not belong there. If you highlight that message and then click on the button marked, This is not spam, the message will be sent to your regular mailbox.

[Curtis McDaniel]

Hello Dick,

I recommend all AOL users upgrade to version 9 or 9 SE. Version 9 has AOL spam filters, but the mail isn't lost, it is just put in a spam folder. In addition to the built in AOL Spam Filter the AOL subscriber can build a list of Spam word, then any mail with those words in the header get sent to the spam folder.

In AOL version 9 there is at the bottom of the new e-mail folder a link listing the number of mails in the Spam folder. Clicking on that links takes one to their spam folder. Here the AOL subscriber can read the spam, delete the spam or click on the button for "this is not spam" and that mail is removed from the spam folder and enters the new mail mail box.

I've had no problenm receiving your mail notifying me by AOL e-mail that online there is a new eogn issue. I have never received your letter as an e-mail itself.

Lastly I don't enjoy you newsletter as much as I did before you went to the blog format. To many links for one. In my opinion the letter changed for the worse.

Curtis E. McDaniel

[Eileen B. Livingston]

Hi Dick, I receive your newsletters regularly. I might have missed a few in the beginning, but I get them all now. I didn't do anything special. I don't have any problems with AOL!

[Don]

Hi Dick: People still use AOL?? I'll never understand why.

[Bob Rut]

I recieve your newsletters via AOL without difficulty. As a precaution, I did put your email address in my address book.

[Karen Beck]

At first I was not receiving the plus edition with regularity and complained via phone and email to AOL. I added the newsletter to my address book and have upgraded to AOL 9.0 Optimized SE. I have had no problems lately in receiving the newsletter.

[Jack Novicki]

Dear Dick:

If you look for the "AOL Keyword" button on the AOL home page click on it and enter "Spam Folder" without the quotes you will be transfered to your folder. Your can deleate or transfer any email.

Regards, Jack

[SamIAm]

Hi Don,

People being condescending towards others?? I'll never understand why.

[JenniferW]

I don't think it is condescending to point out that there are better alternatives. I suspect that most AOL users have never tried any other internet service. I started with AOL but after trying a couple of others, I found that the others were much faster and were cheaper as well. I switched and would never go back to AOL again.

[Bonnie]

This forum should not turn into a place to bash AOL. Each individual usually has a valid reason for using whatever email service provider works for them.

The key to any email service is to learn about the program.

I think the reasons many of the AOL users are having problems getting the newsletters are: (1) they are using an older version of AOL, and (2) even if they have 9.0, they have not taken the time to learn what is available through mail preferences and related settings.

[Mary Grindol]

Dick,

I am on AOL and I RARELY have your newsletter end up in my spam folder. I had more trouble on myway.com that I used for awhile at your suggestion. I use AOL 9.0 and am on a dial-up connection (PC). On the more recent versions of AOL the Spam folder is prominently displayed in the mail folder, along with the number of items that have landed there.

First one must go to spam control preferences and make sure you have opted to have all spam mail delivered to your spam folder. If you don't, items that are thought by the reader to be spam are deleted before you see them. Once you have them directed to your spam folder, you can check the folder daily to be sure you aren't missing anything. Then it is VERY important to click "this is not spam" so that the message will go into your regular mailbox. If you don't, that is if you just read it and delete it from the spam folder, AOL will think it is spam again next time.

There is a custom word list where you can specify words to trigger the spam collection. The more you check and use the spam folder, the "smarter" it gets. Make sure you haven't checked the boxes to block anybody. You want all questionable mail sent to the spam folder, not deleted before your see it.

Another thing that helps is to make sure is in your address book. Also any of your RootsWeb mail lists.

There is a e-mail list that is very helpful for AOL members who use RootsWeb mail lists. To subscribe to the digest version: AOLers-RootsWeb-D, send a message to

AOLers-RootsWeb-D-request@rootsweb.com

that contains in the body of the message the command

subscribe

[Mary Grindol]

Dick,
In the above post your e-mail address doesn't appear. My post reads, "Another thing that helps is to make sure is in your address book. Also any of your RootsWeb mail lists."

Just want people to know that your address is what was meant.

[Dick Eastman]

Thank you, Mary, for that detailed explanation.

[Barbara Love]

No need to go to Explorer for access -- just click on AOL Keyword and type in spamfilter or spambox

[Bob Wallace]

When on-line w/AOL click the down arrow top left under Mail. You can then open New/Old/Sent Mail folders before opening the e-mail. If you see something you don't recognize or that you know is SPAM, SELECT it with a single click ONLY and the at the bottom of the NEW Mail page click Report Spam and you you will never see that sender again. You can also go to Mail Controls and click on Custom Word List - Any word you enter & add will prevent getting future e-mails with that word in the subject (it must match exactly so watch your spelling, spacing, etc.
You will also find a Spam Folder bar on the bottom left of the New/Old Mail folder. Click on it and a recent SPAM list appears. Anything you want to keep you should click that e-mail and then click This is not Spam to move it into New Mail. Once you have reported something as Spam by mistake, this is the only way you will ever get to see it and will have to be done every time you check e-mail.
I am told that if you put the addressee into your Address Book, AOL will know it is not Spam and will not automatically reject it. I have also found this doesn't always work.
Hope this is helpful to other AOL users.

[Alice]

I had not realized that I should deliberately sign up for RootsWeb until reading the messages. ALSO, I had missed your Eastman columns for quite some time and had thought it had simply been dropped from the usual Ancestry.com (or was it DearMyrt?) columns. So please subscribe me to Richard@Eastman.com.
Thanks,
Alice
P.S. Is RootsWeb still free? Are you still free?
I have AOL 9.1 optimized

[Dick Eastman]

Hi Alice. Ancestry.com dropped my column from their web site nearly 2 1/2 years ago. However, I never missed an issue and have been publishing on this web site ever since. All the previous editions are here also, even the ones that were on Ancestry.com. The nine+ years of back issues are all here.

The newsletter here is available in two versions: The Standard Edition is available free of charge while the Plus edition is available for $19.95 a year or $5.95 for three months. (The Plus Edition was never available on Ancestry.com, it was invented later.) I always suggest that people read the free edition for a while first to see how they like it before considering the Plus Edition.

If you would like to subscribe to either version, there are links to do so in the menus to your left. There is a link to subscribe to the Free Standard Edition as well as another link to subscribe the the Plus Edition. In both cases, your subscription is always under your control: you can subscribe or unsubscribe or change your e-mail address at any time.

Thanks for asking!

- Dick Eastman

[Mary Elizabeth Stump]

Hi Dick-- It was a very pleasant surprise to see a mention of your comments on "AOL Mail Problems" in an e-mail from Dear Myrt. A good many years ago I kept up with questions to you when I used CompuServe - and across several states (my household moves). Once I remember even chatting with you via phone, when you answered my questions and said it was sheer luck as you had just "stopped by" to check your mail.

Glad to be back in touch.

Thank you. Mary Elizabeth Stump

[Dick Eastman]

Hi Mary. Indeed, I do remember those "conversations." The online world of genealogy has certainly changed since those days, hasn't it?

[Dick Eastman]

AOL also has a lengthy page that describes many of the things that are different in AOL's mail servers than what is found in other companies' mail servers. This page is obviously biased to insinuate that "AOL is right and the rest of the world is wrong." Nonetheless, there is a lot of good information available at http://postmaster.aol.com/info/

[Dick Eastman]

Here is still another problem with AOL e-mail:

AOL Dumps Florida County's Emergency News As Spam:

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Emergency managers in Indian River County thought the best way to get their message out was by e-mail, but AOL disagrees. The Internet service provider is treating the emergency coordinator's address as a source of spam. The idea was to offer quick alerts about hurricanes, tornados and other weather emergencies, and about 4,200 subscribers signed up for the service.

"In the 16 years I've been in this office, it is the No. 1 thing that best informs the public," said Nathan McCollum, the county's emergency management coordinator.

The problem started last year with the frequent alerts during the unusually busy hurricane season. "Because we send out mail in large numbers, it becomes a pattern for spam senders," said Basil Dancy, a county computer software engineer. The county is working with AOL to try to let the e-mails through. In the meantime, people who want the computerized weather bulletins are being told to put the county's e-mail account in their address book to let their computers accept the e-mail. County officials also are sending e-mails to AOL customers using a temporary e-mail account. "We know it's going out but, in the heat of the moment, it's not a reliable system," said McCollum.

[Barb]

All I want to know is how do I change the apperance of my aol mail panel. The one I have now does not show my buddy list doesn't show people that on my line at the time. I hate it. Wonder if you can help at all. Would appreciate it.
Thank you