by Robert Gillis

Created on: April 05, 2007   Last Updated: July 23, 2010

So after my AOL account was recently "secured" (SHUT OFF) yet again, and I spent AN HOUR with a tech getting it reinstated AGAIN, I received this canned mail from AOL:

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"Thank you for choosing AOL. To protect AOL members from unwanted junk e-mail (also known as "spam"), AOL encourages members to report it to the Community Action Team. The Community Action Team promptly secures the account sending the junk e-mail.

The reason AOL takes this action is because, in many cases, accounts used to send bulk e-mail are compromised: Somebody has stolen the account password and is using the screen name without the knowledge or consent of the account holder. By bumping the account offline and scrambling the passwords, AOL can re-secure the account. This prompts the member to contact AOL, which allows us to provide you with helpful hints on how to keep your account secure in the future!

We understand that taking these actions may inconvenience some of our members. However, we think you will agree that regaining security of your AOL account, and the personal information it contains, is top priority."
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Inconvenience? That's one word for it. The rest are unprintable on my family-friendly blog.

As a board member and webmaster of the Foxboro Jaycees, I often need to send out a "mass email" to the Jaycee Chapter informing them of changes, upcoming community service events, manpower requests, and so on.

The Foxboro Jaycees are part of the Junior Chamber, a not-for-profit worldwide community service organization.

Of the mere 58 email addresses on my current email list (not even half of the group), ALL of these people have asked me to include them on the list. NONE of the emails are unsolicited. I am not peddling Oxycontin or Viagra. I am mass-emailing one of the greatest community service groups in the world a requested email. And what happens every time?

My account is "secured." Shut off.

Then I have to deal with an AOL tech who has CLEARLY not reviewed my file (because as a 10 year member this has happened to me a LOT). Each time I get the same canned responses and a reminder of the AOL bulk email policy against unsolicited email. Each time I try to explain that this is important email, not unsolicited, providing vital information to the Jaycee chapter, and each time I get the same inane questions and canned responses.

One tech told me to create a mailing group, so I did that. The result? My account was secured. AGAIN.

I tried breaking the mails into small groups. The result?

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