SCATT Cries FAOL (Fuck America Online)
Harold Hark
19 August 2003

There are only two America Online subscribers to SCATT, but the ratbag American monolith has decided that Optus is a spammer and refused to allow Optus clients to send email to AOL clients, SCATT updates included.

The reasons are given as follows:

The information presently available to AOL indicates thisserver is generating high volumes of member complaints from AOL's member base. Based on AOL's Unsolicited Bulk Email policy at Unsolicited Bulk E-mail. AOL may not accept further email transactions from this server or domain. For more information, please visit Postmaster.Info.

One of SCATT's subscribers, the American Resistance hero, Frederick Brass, has sent them the following complaint:

AOL:

I have just received notice that a friend of mine has been put on notice that AOL considers him a spammer and his e-mail to me has been returned. HE DOES NOT SEND SPAM! I do not understand why AOL is not forwarding his mail to me. This is not the first problem I have encountered with AOL returning e-mail sent to me. I do not know if this is AOL censorship or faulty service, but it is very disturbing to find I cannot receive e-mail of news I am interested in but I still get mail I do not want such as all the porn, Viagra, and mortgage refinancing I DO NOT want to get.

Frederick Brass, Socrates Sez

America Online has been regarded as the enemy of email users for years. The website Why America Online Sucks has been around for just as long. The equivalent of Bill Gates' con on the world of computer users with his faulty PC software, which allows hackers to worm their way into the homes and businesses of millions (but not those of Macintosh users), AOL is known for similar lax security, as well as poor service. Why anyone continues to sign up with them is a mystery, or just another case of failing to do the homework leading to buyer gullibility.

This could also be a form of censorship, but I've decided not to go that route. I think it's just a case of inept code unable to discern between clients on email lists and genuine spammers.

The matter is being investigated.

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