AOL Email Footers - Paid or Not

I wrote this post on another blog back in March or 2007:

Earlier I noted that though I pay for my AOL still (Dial up connection, in case cable connection goes down), I still get the AOL advertising at the bottom of my emails.

My perspective is if I'm paying, I shouldn't get AOL ads in my email transmissions.

I sent this perspective in to AOL tech on the 7th, and got a reply back today.
Here's the reply:

I understand you would like to remove the free services that AOL offers appearing at the bottom part of your outgoing e-mail. I would like to thank you for bringing up this issue to our attention.

We appreciate your feedback. Unfortunately, it is not possible to remove the e-mail footer at this time. I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.

The footer that has been appearing on our AOL Web Mail service is now also included in emails that are sent using AOL's software. This footer is a reminder for all users that AOL's services are free, including AOL email. Some of the free services you can also take advantage of are Safety and Security Services, Online Storage, Parental Controls, and latest AOL software versions. (Bruce Warns: Which introduces insidious background processes that are a real persistent pain to rid yourself of!)

However, I have taken a note of your feedback. We highly value what our members have to say and I will make sure that it is given the appropriate attention. We use feedback like this to make improvement to the service.

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

[end response]

There you have it folks. For the moment, even paying customers are stuck with the in-email advertising. I always say that as consumers, you need to speak with your wallet, and I guess it's time I do just that and cancel my back up connection plan in response.

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So I responded to AOL with this email:

Thanks for your info. I guess since there is no difference in how my account is treated from pay versus free, I should modify my existing contract and save me a few bucks each month. I appreciate your effort in the matter.

~~~~ and their response, which I assume is a canned preformated response

Dear Bruce, Thanks for writing to AOL.It is great to know how much you appreciate AOL and AOL Member Services.I would like to recommend that you visit AOL Keyword blah blah - a convenient guide to our features, all in one place.

If you have other concerns or questions regarding AOL, please do not hesitate to contact us in the future.

We are always ready to answer questions and do whatever we can to make your online experience even more enjoyable. Thank you very much for your continued support.

Customer Care ConsultantAOL LLC

~~~~~
So I write and tell them what was up, and told I can write to let them know if I have any questions. Sigh, it's a tall tree I bark up today.


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With that said, has anyone who reads this newsletter still pay for AOL and do you still have footers you can't get rid of? I'd like to hear from you.