OT: HELP! AOL deleted YOUR email address from my contacts

3 years ago

LONG rant ahead. I'm so frustrated. And anxious.

A forum member asked me for another member's email address. I was happy to help, but always ask before I give out anyone's info. Well, I went to ask permission, and that person's address is gone.

Some of you know that I do my best to keep in touch with many members outside of the forum. I'm constantly checking on people who disappear (Sara-Ann/Merlena, just recently, who by the way we've still not heard from her), or that we know are having health/family issues. Sometimes it's just to continue a discussion from here on the forum. I also don't like depending on How-uzzlezz as my only source of contact.

Well, I *had* a separate list/category in my AOL contacts, just so I could easily find the addresses for forum members. But AOL (I know, I know... it's a dinosaur) recently revamped their email service. I hadn't really paid much attention, thinking the changes were mostly cosmetic. But no, when they made the changes, evidently my personalized lists went away, along with some, though not all, of the addresses that were in them. The remaining contacts are now in one lonnnnng list (of THOUSANDS!). Somehow Jeri's, Kim's, and Paul's addresses survived the carnage. Maybe a few more. I suspect the ones that survived were not in my GardenWeb folder, but in my general contacts. I'm still going through my literal thousands of contacts (I've used AOL for centuries, lol) looking for everyone else's, so I can re-sort them into a smaller list. I know I'm missing Nik the Greek, Christopher Gordon (AquaEyes), Alana, Ingrid, Malorena, Ann Peck... and those are just a few of the ones I can think of. It's tough to remember who to even look for! Who might be missing that I won't think of until I want to reach them?

As an aside, there's another weirdness to this affair. Along with the missing contacts, there are now at least a hundred *unknown name* contacts listed, that are blank, devoid of ANY info. Empty. A vacuum. Are these the rotting remains of the missing contacts? The info was lost, but they left placeholders as grave markers????

So....

If I've ever been in touch with YOU, or you've emailed ME, please get in touch through Houzz private messages to give me your email again. I promise not to stalk you, lol.

Those of my friends here know I'm very protective of their info, so if I've never been in touch outside of the forum, but you'd like to know someone here could check on you, feel free to message me.

*wringing of hands* John

Featured Answer

jacqueline9CA

3 years ago

bart bart - I am so glad to hear that I am not alone in the universe in that I do not, and have never, and have no plans to, own(ed) a smart phone! I have never wanted to carry my computer around in my purse or pocket - I have enough trouble with my actual computer (which I keep locked in my office - it can't get into too much trouble there, and they can "track" its location all they want).

There was a long article in the paper (I think the WSJ) yesterday about how smart phone providers are all moving to demanding that you pay them only by giving them access to your bank account. That is crazy - every day I read about some huge company being hacked and having all its users' "secure" personal info stolen, and I have no desire for my banking info to suddenly be on the "dark web". My flip phone, which I have ONLY for emergencies, is totally off 99% of the time, and will stay that way.

fig_insanity - I can't imagine your frustration - I hope you manage to re-construct your lost contacts somehow. I agree with everyone that every time some sort of system says they are "updating", it is usually a catastrophe.

Jackie

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Comments (7)

roseseek
3 years ago
Did you also just get "updated" automatically with no possibility of returning to the old mailbox? AOHell, in their ultimate wisdom, made the change and there is no way to return. Many of mine are also gone while some are hiding. Dig around in each contact to see if you can find the "edit" icon (red) and then click it. Often, I've found the missing information under the edit function, even though it doesn't show otherwise. Fun "stuff". Good luck!
fig_insanity Z7b E TN thanked roseseek
fig_insanity Z7b E TN
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
@roseseek Hey Kim,

Yeah, it was against my will. They kept trying to get me to try the "new improved" version with a pop up every time I signed in. I kept resisting. Then one day the new version was the default and I had no choice. Tech support ASSURED me no info was deleted in the change. I had to prove it to them, with screen shots, and they still think I'm making it up, lol.

On those "name unknown" contacts, there's nothing there, even under the edit function. They are completely blank, just place holders that take up space. I'll have to manually delete every.single.one. One at a time. And there appear to be hundreds. Scrolling though my contacts to find a particular address is near impossible, for all the "noise".
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roseseek
3 years ago
@fig_insanity Z7b E TN pretty much the same here. I'm sorry. I emailed you, just in case. I've been on AOHell for nearly 30 years because, originally, their interface was seamless and easy, what I have always thought of as "blue hair logic". Each time they "improve it", they make it worse, but none of the others I have investigated have been any better.
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
3 years ago
I feel the pain from transferring photos from my old computer to this new one and the organization got all balled up. This was iphoto to photo.

It was all a pain in the rear.

Feeling for you, John.
fig_insanity Z7b E TN thanked Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
User
3 years ago
O, peeps, this is why I kind of hate "electronics",and don't want a smartphone,etc. "They" always have to "improve" things; you're supposed to re-learn how to do basic stuff every time they "update" something...and then there's stuff like on-line nurseries that demand that you "log in" if you wish to order from them, but the logging-in process does not work correctly,and of course you're not supposed to use the same password for everything,therefore in theory one is supposed to memorize many, many different passwords-the list goes on. My life is complicated enough as it is, and I already have far too much on my plate, and yet I'm supposed to stress out over this kind of stuff, too?

John, you are such a sweet, kind person,and I love your sense of humour. I hope you get this figured out, one way or another. What a mess!
fig_insanity Z7b E TN thanked User
Melissa Northern Italy zone 8
3 years ago
Oh, John, that sounds foul. I wish you good luck in getting the mess straightened out!

Like a number of others on this forum, I love technology when it's SIMPLE. I'm another smartphone holdout: I WANT not to have constant access to the Internet! Having to log on to my (much used) computer and use it in one place helps keep me sane.
fig_insanity Z7b E TN thanked Melissa Northern Italy zone 8