@JDaniluk wrote:
For one thing, they require logging in every 90 days in order to keep the account active (and will delete the account 90 days after that). I have the mail forwarded to GMail and I'll have to change to POP so that it logs in to the account. Because of the way GMail handles POP, that will delay the delivery of my mail possibly by an hour or more.
Paying for a service generally gets you better reliability and better customer service. I have been a paying customer of Verizon (and before that GTE) for more than 15 years and expect to be able to turn to them when I have support issues. After the initial migration period, Verizon customers probably won't have any better status at AOL than people that use the regular free service. At best, any status we have depends entirely on the corporate relationship between Verizon and AOL, which may or may not last long. We'll be treated the same as free AOL users, and subject to any arbitrary change that AOL might make in the service.
Some comments on your issues:
1) I received the following email from Verizon on Nov. 11, 2015:
Did you not receive it? Very clearly the AOL policy is really not that much different than that Verizon policy, if we weren't migrated to AOL we (you) would still have had to log into Verizon email periodically (since I use a client that happens pretty much every day every 15 minutes or so).
2) Verizon completed its acquistion of AOL back in June 2015 I believe. All of the stuff I have read indicates that this is planned to be a long-term relationship, I don't see anything on the horizon indicating that Verizon might turn around and sell AOL any time soon - but of course any plans can change at any time.
3) I am not familiar with Gmail options, but if you choose to use POP to retrieve your AOL email instead of forwarding is there no way to specify the interval? Only checking every hour seems like a long interval (I am assuming that that is the issue you are referring to).
4) Yes, I suspect we will be treated pretty much the same as any free AOL user would be. Since Verizon did not separately charge for Verizon email service, it appeared to me to basically be a "free" service, and based on complaints posted here over the years it appears to me that Verizon viewed it exactly that way - "free" and thus little to no support (but then again, I have not needed any email help except briefly in 2005, my email account was initially not set up correctly).
5) And while it makes absolutely no difference, I have had GTE/Verizon service for aproximately 36 years at the same house, although FiOS triple-play (and thus Verizon email) only since 2005. And over those years I have had to ask for help with service issues only very rarely, and not at all in the last 5-6 years at least).
Anyway, thanks for the feedback, I obviously do not have the same view as you. Good luck!
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Justin
FiOS TV: Extreme HD, Internet: 50/50, Digital Voice
VMS Enhanced Service: 1 server, 2 clients
Keller, TX 76248 (VHO 1)