[WikiEN-l] blocking AOL users

Sat Aug 30 16:42:15 UTC 2003

--- daniwo59 at aol.com wrote:
> I am an AOL user. I am also a sysop and I have been contributing to
> Wikipedia 
> for well over a year. I have found myself blocked on several
> occasions 
> because of blocks against Michael. There is absolutely no
> justification for blocking 
> thousands of potential users like me just because we happen to use
> AOL. There 
> must be some other solution. 
> 
> Danny

Danny, the company you chose to use to provide internet access and
other services is unwilling to alter its business practices to
accomodate the needs of other web sites to provide defense against
malicious persons.

You will note that AOL is the only ISP which does not assign
session-length IPs for dialup users. This is a technical feature they
have decided to implement in order to disallow banning of internet
users from non-AOL sites, since by the strength of their numbers they
can influence content providers to not block this many potential
customers.

Some people will counter that because of AOL's infrastructure, they
are incapable of assigning session-length IPs. I say that they have
the money to do so, they are just unwilling. (everybody else does it,
so it can't be that hard).

I feel your pain, but AOL's policy is harming the W, both by allowing
Michael and Co to rampage and by forcing many people to spend their
time and energy trying to figure out a way around this problem.

You have an option: You can leave AOL and use a different provider.

=====
Christopher Mahan
chris_mahan at yahoo.com
818.943.1850 cell
http://www.christophermahan.com/

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