Can't Undo
I finally decided to change my AIM screen name today. I just got tired of the old name. Mostly it's old friends from college, some I don't remember, some I'd rather forget. You gotta move on and not look back sometimes, ya know? Hit me up if you want the new one.
Now, I go to delete the old one from AOL's website....much Googlin' later I find out that you can't really ever delete any of your screen names. They're stuck there forever! Some threads speculated that after a year of inactivity it would be deleted, but AOL didn't say that. It kind of reminded me of Gmail. Gmail archives ALL of your email! It's like your personal information becomes their property, and you can't do anything about it. I know a guy that was turned down for a job, because, and they told him this, they Googled his name and found something they didn't like on UrbanDictionary where he had defined something years ago. He couldn't erase it or change this name on it or anything. It's there forever. So think before you sign up on these websites, people! Don't use your real name and look up beforehand whether or not you can cancel your membership.
....I wonder if there are AIM screennames and Gmail accounts for sale on eBay...
Posts
Just curious, does that also apply to Yahoo accounts? Just curious mind you ....
ReplyDeleteActually I think Yahoo lets you delete everything you can sign up for.
ReplyDeletehttps://edit.yahoo.com/config/delete_user
I still get announcements for an AOL screen name I signed up for years ago and never used.
ReplyDeleteI think the only thing you can do is just stop using it and people just wonder where you've gone to...
One website I saw actually suggested that people "scramble" their own AIM passwords on the website so that they're locked out of it themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe overall impression I got with AIM, their website, and the inflexibility yet overcomplicated nature of the program itself is that AOL needs to get its shit together. It's no wonder I've virtually abandoned AIM for 4-5 years now.