"Comments" section on AOL posted news articles
After reading an article accessed by clicking on the "Welcome" tab on AOL Gold Desktop, there is a "Comments" tab which gives you access to comments other people have made and you can make comments yourself. Occasionally, the user may make a comment that might be prohibited e.g. the use of a profanity word e.g. a comment like "That was a **** of a stupid thing to do"
So, a message will pop up that tells you that your comment is under review. That usually means your comment has been flagged by whatever algorithm AOL uses for such things. However, there is an opportunity to edit your comments and if you suspect you know the problem like the sentence used above, if you delete that sentence and sometimes the comment is immediately posted. Other times, you may not have any idea why the comment you made was flagged and do not know what to edit. AOL indicates that you will be notified why your article was flagged and or that your article has been reviewed and posted. THAT NEVER HAPPENS!
I have apparently been flagged and eliminated from being able to comment on any AOL article and I can find no one at AOL who can help me determine why this has happened nor have I been notified by AOL why this has happened. I have been told various things about this program/process/protocol that conflict with each other.
AOL has discriminated against me for reasons unknown and I can no longer read or make any comments on any article. I have been "Cancelled" by AOL. Therefore, my 1st Amendment rights have been violated.
AOL should at least give the user, in this case I have been a paid user for nearly 30 years, notice as to why he/she has been removed from the ability to read and/or comment and given the opportunity to make corrective behavior.
This has caused my great consternation because I don't know what I said that would have created this response from AOL, especially since I have been a paid customer for nearly 30 years. So, I have decided to cancel my paid AOL subscription and seek legal representation for violation of my 1st Amendment rights.
Originally, I was even given a case number when complaining about this and told AOL would get back to me. Upon follow-up with AOL, I was told that a case number should not have been created because the "Comments" section is controlled by third parties-writers of the article which I know to be incorrect because of the protocol AOL uses in response to comments made that may be unacceptable and AOL even gives you the opportunity to modify your comments. So, AOL has full control over accepting or rejecting comments and has the ability from eliminating you from being able to make any comments or read other people's comments..
Anyway from here I will let my attorneys sort things out.
Very dissatisfied customer. User beware!!
James Dugan
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