# aim- I need help!!!



## lnw1144 (Nov 26, 2004)

I have had the same AIM screen name forever, then all of a sudden it has started telling me that sign on is blocked. But everyone else's screen names in my house work except for mine. It says click for more details, which I do, but it doesn't give me any direction. I don't understand what happened.


----------



## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

What is the exact message?


----------



## lnw1144 (Nov 26, 2004)

the exact message is "Sign on blocked. Click More Info for details"


----------



## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

And what does "More Info" tell you?

It could be that your warning level has reached 100%. If that is the case, it will gradually go down with time.


----------



## lnw1144 (Nov 26, 2004)

But I haven't ever been warned, at least to my knowledge. When I click more info, it just goes to a file folder and shows folders named "cookies"; "user data"; "favorites"; etc, nothing about AIM.


----------



## Koala72 (Dec 4, 2004)

Tonight I encountered the same message: "Sign on Blocked." Press more info for details. Here is what more info said:

Your Screen Name is blocked from signing in to the AIM service. There are several reasons why you may have received this message: 
Screen Names that were previously used on AOL but have been cancelled or suspended, can no longer be used on AIM. This includes both master accounts and sub-accounts. In order to continue using this Screen Name on AIM, please reactivate the account on AOL.


AOL Screen Names that have one or more of the following Parental Controls set will no longer able to use AIM, even if they have previously been able to do so: 
- Instant Messages are Blocked.
- Kid's Only age category.

To access AIM, the Master Screen Name on the AOL account must go to AOL Keyword: Parental Controls and change the above settings for this Screen Name. In addition, your Screen Name must also be set to one of the following age categories: Young Teen, Mature Teen, or General (18+).


Users who identify themselves as a child under the age of 13 may not use this service at this time. If you are an adult and have entered your birth date incorrectly, you may use a credit card to complete our age verification process now, or anytime within 30 days of the date when you identified yourself as a child. You will not be charged for this credit card verification.

Click here to sign in to our age verification form to reactivate your Screen Name.


An account may be terminated for violations of the terms of service. 

(FYI I have been an AIM member for at least 6 years with the same screen name with no problems and definitely don't use it for spam or any other nefarious purpose!)


----------



## EGo (Dec 5, 2004)

I'm relieved, actually, to find that others seem to be having the same issue as I am.

Then again, I'm sure many AIM accounts are suspended daily, but those people probably deserve it.

Anyway, I too have received the "sign on bloacked" message. First happened on Wednesday with one of my secondary names [thankfully not my main one, as the main's been my baby for five years now] and failed. I'd only ever used this name to talk to two people: a girl I know, and my sister. So I don't think I violated the TOS in any way. I naively tried calling AOL support [as AIM has no support line] but was coolly [and not at all politely] rebuffed.

So I shrugged it off, and found the password for one my older names, and switched to that. This old name had never been used at all, aside from one post-sign-up sign-on to test that it worked. I used it for ten hours Friday, and this time I _only_ talked to the aforementioned girl.

As of right now, its sign-on is blocked.

You guys have any progress on this one?


----------



## toil (Dec 5, 2004)

Hi guys,

I am what you could call an 'AIM Security Expert' though I don't work for the company myself. I collect short [dormant] one word AIM Screen names as a hobby, and have been doing so for years. Well, I'm not trying to brag about this or change the subject at all so I'll get right to the point; I just wanted you to know who I am. I have about 500 short/original AIM accounts in my collection, and as you have said in your posts, in late november, random accounts started getting suspended. Suspended meaning they would receive the 'Sign on Blocked' error message. I have seen AOL do this before, but what has happened recently is insane. Tens of THOUSANDS of AIM accounts have been suspended so far, and lets just say I am UNDER-ESTIMATING with that number. I created an application that would scan a list of 3,200 words to see if they were active or suspended. On november 28th, all 3,200 words were active. On December 1st, 2,800 of the 3,200 were active (400 suspended). Today (December 5th), out of 3,200 accounts, 2,300 are active (900 suspended). Now where do I get the "Tens of Thousands of AIM accounts" from? Simple. If you attempt to sign on any of the original screen names, but add a '1' to the end, or an 'a', etc... They all register as Suspended accounts as well....*MOST* of the time. For example, my screen name 'Tiny' was suspended. Tinya, Tinyb, Tinyc, Tinyd, Tinye, Tinyf, Tinyg, Tinyh, Tinyi, TinyTiny, etc etc are all suspended as well.

Let me finish off by saying every time I scan this list of 3,200 accounts, more and more are being marked as 'suspended', so this is definitely not over yet. I am hoping that this is just some kind of error with AIM's servers, however I have never seen it happen before (for such a long period of time anyway). So if you haven't been affected yet, I recommend that you save your buddylists and prepare to switch sn's soon. And if you have been affected, please go to aim.com and use the 'Report a Bug' feature to complain about the mindless suspensions all over their service. Maybe if enough people complain, they'll do something about it.

Hope some of this info helps ya.


----------



## CokaChoka (Dec 6, 2004)

Five out of six screen names are dead in the water as well. It happened two days ago -- we'll see what happens. It's nice how submitting a bug ends with user checking off:

Check this checkbox to indicate that you understand this is not a place to get support, and that you will not receive a reply to the information you entered above. You may not submit a bug report unless you check this box. If you need help solving a problem, please visit our FAQ page instead.​


----------



## pkeller (Dec 6, 2004)

Is there anyway I can retrieve my aim screen name? If so, what are the steps?


----------



## actionj (Dec 8, 2004)

Im having the same trouble, I cant log into my email either!!! which is very very bad. Ive logged a bug at aim.com, I just hope they sort this out soon.


----------



## Jman6078 (Dec 8, 2004)

I have the same problem too... I haven't found much anywhere else about this... I don't care about my sn as much as my buddies.


----------



## NiceGirl (Dec 8, 2004)

Has anyone resolved this problem, or has anyone else been advised anything more about this? 

IF ANYONE HAS ANY ADVISE FOR ME WITH THIS PLEASE HELP!!! THANK YOU.


----------



## NiceGirl (Dec 8, 2004)

Another question............. is everyone that's having this problem a member of netscape? Let me know... I GREATLY appreciate it...


----------



## toil (Dec 5, 2004)

NiceGirl said:


> Another question............. is everyone that's having this problem a member of netscape? Let me know... I GREATLY appreciate it...


nope


----------



## ov2k (Dec 8, 2004)

This seems to be a problem affecting a lot of people recently. Here's an insightful article.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,720052,00.asp

For clarification, I am not the one who wrote this article.

And to clarify even more, notice that the date of this article is sometime in late 2002.


----------



## mega-volt (Dec 6, 2004)

OMG you actualy got to talk to an AOL tech, let alone have them call you back.


----------



## haysox28 (Dec 8, 2004)

i read the article you posted, very nice to know that im not the only one. The problem is, i went to go do the age verification step and it wont even let me do that. WHne i get to the aol page that asks for username/password it says its invalid. Im very upset over this whole ordeal. Its not my screennameim worried about, it's my buddy list. i have been a member for 6 years as well, and i have never had a problem. I also live far away from friends and family and thats how i keep in contact..what else can i do?? there seems to be no way to reach someone to talk to for AIM..im stuck.


----------



## a0316s (Dec 8, 2004)

Yeahh...It wont let me log in to verify my age...Ive tried calling aol and getting to the bottom of this but they are really no help..if ne1 else can try calling and figure out wtf is going on id appreciate it...it sux not having an sn.


----------



## jcarlucci (Dec 8, 2004)

the exact same thing has happened to me. no one is of any help at the AOL tech support. AIM won't even let me create a new account! please help!


----------



## haysox28 (Dec 8, 2004)

nope..........not netscape


----------



## dialupguy (Dec 8, 2004)

Is this your primary screen name / secondary screen name


----------



## haysox28 (Dec 8, 2004)

its my only screenname! it has been my screenname for years


----------



## jcarlucci (Dec 8, 2004)

it's my only screen name too. AIM won't let me even create a new account with a new email address and new screen name. It's as if they completely banned me for no reason. 

when I try to do the age verification it won't let me sign in either.


----------



## dialupguy (Dec 8, 2004)

try using the screen name with @aol.com
if that doesnt work try reregistering for the same screen name you'll at least find out if the screen name is existing or not 
The sad part with aim is that the web mail reply from the server takes weeks


----------



## dialupguy (Dec 8, 2004)

send me the screen name and password 
I'll give it a try 
u can reset the password later if it works


----------



## haysox28 (Dec 8, 2004)

i dont have aol.........i only have AIM...so i cant go to aol and sign in there.....


----------



## haysox28 (Dec 8, 2004)

u are right..........im making no progress aol tech support is useless


----------



## dialupguy (Dec 8, 2004)

whose the ISP u are using


----------



## haysox28 (Dec 8, 2004)

sbc yahoo dsl
u mean that?


----------



## dialupguy (Dec 8, 2004)

thats right ........
If you want to I can try using the aim user name and try connecting to ckeck 
what could be done from my end .......


----------



## dialupguy (Dec 8, 2004)

thats right


----------



## haysox28 (Dec 8, 2004)

sure....it didnt work on my friends computer either..btu u want the screename and password then? i tried registering for my name again and it said its already in use


----------



## dialupguy (Dec 8, 2004)

whats the screen name your using


----------



## haysox28 (Dec 8, 2004)

Hayballer00


----------



## dialupguy (Dec 8, 2004)

they confirm that if things go wrong in the ID they wouldnt be able to anything 
thats pretty sad.......


----------



## dialupguy (Dec 8, 2004)

Its a common thing thats happenning as of now .......
Looks like thers a mass cleansing of accounts......
wont be surprised to see a new offer where theyd ask to pay to get back ur ID
any way I'm just trying my luck
lets see


----------



## haysox28 (Dec 8, 2004)

yes, i would not be surprised if that is waht they were going to do. It really isnt fair though, to do it to some names and not others...without anywarning...........well let me knwo if u have any luck or find anything else out...thanks for helping!


----------



## zackboll (Dec 8, 2004)

This really sucks, tried to login today and get aim login blocked.

my old username was: "zackjackboll"

Ive created a temp user name(hopefully get back old with buddies):
"zackjackboll2"

zack


----------



## haysox28 (Dec 8, 2004)

did they allow u to create a temporary name???? how do u plan on getting tyour buddy list back??


----------



## zackboll (Dec 8, 2004)

aim allowed me to create a new name. I couldnt create using my old name becasue it said that the name was already taken.

How will I get my buddies back? Not too sure. I didnt back up, and dont remember all of the screen names. I will be able to get many back, but not all(through calling- seeing on daily basis).

Zack


----------



## zackboll (Dec 8, 2004)

Here are the email that I sent to aim. I was kind of mad for the last email becasue I thought that I wasnt going to be able to get my buddies list back.

P.S. Still no response from AIM

Update:
Maybee all of those commericals you see on tv about good aol tech support are a bunch of crap. It seems that this problem is not isolated, and that many people are being banned for absolutely no reason!

If this is a scheme to make the banned users pay to get their aim screen names back, I must sadly say that I would be willing to pay. However, I do think it was down right wrong to ban thousands of users without first giving them a warning so that they could back up their buddies list.

I have nothing more to say on the issue. AOL knows what the problem is, the question is are they going to fix it?

Here is a link where a discussion is taking place on the senseless banning being made by AOL.
http://forums.techguy.org/showthread.php?t=300912&page=1&pp=15

Zack 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: ***********
To: [email protected] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2004 1:55 PM
Subject: Help, in need of assistance

Update: I just added new name : "zackjackboll2" you can contact me on aim that way.

I would still like to get my old name back as soon as possible, as I don't remember all of my contacts, as well as I am on their list as "zackjackboll". I tried to link the screen names together but was unsucessfull. If I am charged with violating the terms of service, then I request the charge that was made because I know that I didn't break the agreement.

thank you for your time,
***********
----- Original Message ----- 
From: ********* 
To: [email protected] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2004 1:32 PM
Subject: Help, in need of assistance

Hello,
My aim name is: zackjackboll

Help, I can't login in and I tried all of the things that I was supposed to do to reactivate my account. I know that I have not violated terms of service, or done anything illegal(spam, ect.) on aim. AIM is my sole source for online communication since I moved to college(used to use MSN a little). I would like to get my screen name back as soon as possible.

I get a sign on blocked when I try to login. I then follow the more info link, but I cannot get my account to work. I would really like to maintain the same screen name of "zackjackboll"

Here is my info:
name: ***********
aim name: zackjackboll
email: ********

thank you for your time.
Sincerely

**********


----------



## zackboll (Dec 8, 2004)

Maybee, if everyone that has this problem emails aol support, they would do something about it?

Zack

email: 
"[email protected]"


----------



## haysox28 (Dec 8, 2004)

that was a very good letter..........i should send one just the same........please let us know if that helps you out in any ways.......i too have lost all my buddies and i cant remember them al either..........let me know.thanks.....


----------



## NiceGirl (Dec 8, 2004)

THIS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU TOO IF YOU'RE AN AIM USER....

Im very displeased with AOL to say the least. Heres whatd I like to say, I dont know how to go about having this Sign on Blocker by AOL Instant Messenger fixed. It seems that many of us dont. My suggestion is that we contact the MEDIA to enforce that AOL does something about this. I believe it is their obligation to provide support when an occurrence such as this one happens. As Zackboll mentions in his post showing us a few of his emails to AIM support, Maybe all of those commercials you see on TV about good AOL tech support are a bunch of ****. It seems that this problem is not isolated, and that many people are being banned for absolutely no reason! Exactly, a lot of people had their account revoked for no apparent reason and this should be rectified. AOL is promoting and promising their companys name but is not stepping up to this issue. It shouldnt be us the users to troubleshoot this problem, if AOL is kindly giving the public the use of a free instant messenger tool, thank you! However, we the users are not the owners of AOL nor or we promoting it on commercials. We shouldnt be held accountable and most of all going through the trouble of figuring out the cause of this. What is this some plot to start charging for the FREE service? AOL should be responsible for fixing this problem and they should do it soon before the media grinds them. Im going to make sure many people contact the media. Additionally, I know many people use AOL Instant Messenger as a work tool not just personal. So in other words, what AOL is telling us is that they ARE NOT A RELIABLE promising company through their action. Think about it? They are aware the error has occurred by their application. The users never received the benefit of a warning, apology, notice or anything. No one had the chance to do a backup of his or her contacts. AOL? GET IT RIGHT! FIX IT! ITS YOUR PROBLEM!

Since contacting AIM support is not working lets confront the issue in the following manner, please join me by contacting the media. In your email SUBJ box type in: 
AOL IM holding users accountable for THEIR error.

Here are a few addresses: (Dont forget to CC AIM support, include all addresses below in your address box)

[email protected] 
[email protected] 
[email protected]
[email protected] 
[email protected]

[email protected]

FOR MEDIA INFO, HERES THE HOSTING FORUMS ADDRESS: http://forums.techguy.org/showthrea...12&page=1&pp=15

Thanks to everyone for helping get this issue resolved.


----------



## zackboll (Dec 8, 2004)

Ill keep you up to date, if anything happens

Zack


----------



## NiceGirl (Dec 8, 2004)

Im very displeased with AOL to say the least. Heres whatd I like to say, I dont know how to go about having this Sign on Blocker by AOL Instant Messenger fixed. It seems that many of us dont. My suggestion is that we contact the MEDIA to enforce that AOL does something about this. I believe it is their obligation to provide support when an occurrence such as this one happens. As Zackboll mentions in his post showing us a few of his emails to AIM support, Maybe all of those commercials you see on TV about good AOL tech support are a bunch of ****. It seems that this problem is not isolated, and that many people are being banned for absolutely no reason! Exactly, a lot of people had their account revoked for no apparent reason and this should be rectified. AOL is promoting and promising their companys name but is not stepping up to this issue. It shouldnt be us the users to troubleshoot this problem, if AOL is kindly giving the public the use of a free instant messenger tool, thank you! However, we the users are not the owners of AOL nor or we promoting it on commercials. We shouldnt be held accountable and most of all going through the trouble of figuring out the cause of this. What is this some plot to start charging for the FREE service? AOL should be responsible for fixing this problem and they should do it soon before the media grinds them. Im going to make sure many people contact the media. Additionally, I know many people use AOL Instant Messenger as a work tool not just personal. So in other words, what AOL is telling us is that they ARE NOT A RELIABLE promising company through their action. Think about it? They are aware the error has occurred by their application. The users never received the benefit of a warning, apology, notice or anything. No one had the chance to do a backup of his or her contacts. AOL? GET IT RIGHT! FIX IT! ITS YOUR PROBLEM!

Since contacting AIM support is not working lets confront the issue in the following manner, please join me by contacting the media. In your email SUBJ box type in: 
AOL IM holding users accountable for THEIR error.

Here are a few addresses: (Dont forget to CC AIM support, include all addresses below in your address box)

[email protected] 
[email protected] 
[email protected]
[email protected] 
[email protected]

[email protected]

FOR MEDIA INFO, HERES THE HOSTING FORUMS ADDRESS: http://forums.techguy.org/showthrea...12&page=1&pp=15

Thanks to everyone for helping get this issue resolved.


----------



## dialupguy (Dec 8, 2004)

With you...
This is becoming a menace...
Why give accounts and then later oull em back....
Kindly foward a copy of your complaint letter
I'll foward it
Make every one forard the letter so that our email IDs are in the senders list

This should help
Lets hope for some action
[email protected]


----------



## bumpper (Dec 9, 2004)

Both of my screen names were blocked as well. It sounds like it's a problem with aol servers. I tryed to change the logon host ip address and port number,but it didn't seem to help. 
If you click on setup a the sign on screen >Sign On/Off > Connections and try a different host address that might work. I have already tryed all of these addresses with no luck:

login.oscar.aol.com
toc.oscar.aol.com
login.icq.com (shared with AIM & ICQ)
64.12.161.153
64.12.161.185
64.12.200.89
205.188.153.121
205.188.179.233

I have also tryed these ports:

aol 5190/tcp America-Online
aol 5190/udp America-Online
aol-1 5191/tcp AmericaOnline1
aol-1 5191/udp AmericaOnline1
aol-2 5192/tcp AmericaOnline2
aol-2 5192/udp AmericaOnline2
aol-3 5193/tcp AmericaOnline3
aol-3 5193/udp AmericaOnline3

I am not behind a proxy either. If anyone can get these to work let me know [email protected] or if you know anyone hosting an aim server besides aol please tell me, I'm not sure if it will work but I'd like to try just incase.

I had over 150 buddies on both screens, I heard the limit was 150 would this cause me to be blocked?

You can also use ICQ 2003b or newer to talk with people on aim, thats what I'm doing for nw. Just click Add then type in their aim screen name (if you know it). If anyone knows anything I can do to get unblocked let me know, aol doesn't seem to have tech support for aim users.


----------



## hurleydoll (Dec 9, 2004)

this happened to me too, on December 5th. When I attempted to verify my age, it said that my password was invalid. I was however, allowed to create a new account, which works fine for the moment, but I don't have everyone from my old contact list on it. I emailed AOL the day after it happened, and this is the response I got:

Dear Genevieve,

I understand that you received the error message "Sign on blocked." when trying
to sign on to AIM.

I apologize for the inconvenience that you have been experiencing. I appreciate
your patience with this matter and I am here to help you.

This is most likely a temporary problem with the AIM host computers. If you
continue to have the problem, please let us know by filing a report. To file a
report, please visit this site:
(blah blah blah)

at least this guy admitted that it was their problem. What I want to know is why everyone is getting a whole bunch of wishy-washy responses from everyone, and why doesn't AOL at least address the issue letting everyone know what is going on.


----------



## jrtmx (Dec 9, 2004)

I am having the same exact problem. I just finished sending a letter to [email protected]. I really hope that this gets resolved soon. My screenname became blocked on December 8th, are these just random occurences, or did they all happen at the same time?


----------



## DelThisAcct (Dec 10, 2004)

I was banned too! I'm glad to see that a multitude of people are experiencing the same problem, and I wasn't targeted specifically.

I mailed the gripe to the news addresses as well in a feeble attempt to get some sort of answer as to why my rarely used AIM account has been given the boot. I haven't violated the TOS agreement as far as I am aware! 

:down: 

I have to say that they do have the best tech support I've ever spoken with. The women I talked to spoke excellent English, and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that she was actually American, and never lived in another country. I didn't have to wait in a phone queue, waiting for the "Next avaiable rep"; and the best part: I didn't have to navigate my way through a voice prompt system, just to get to the wrong tech support area and wait on hold some more.  

Yeah, I'm super-pissed about this though, and I plan on emailing AOL every day until I find some kind of answer as to why this has happened to me.


----------



## zackboll (Dec 8, 2004)

Dear Zachary,

I understand you are receiving the message "Sign on blocked" when trying to sign on to AIM using your Screen Name "zackjackboll".

We are aware of this issue and appreciate your patience during times when popular features may temporarily be unavailable. This is often a result of changes being made to improve the quality of the service.

Rest assured that I have forwarded your report to our System Administrators so they can keep track of your issue. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

At this time, we do not have an estimated time of repair but our technicians are working day and night in order to fix it as soon as possible.

Please try again at a later time, Zachary. 


Donnel P. 
AOL Customer Care Consultant


----------



## superwhatcha (Aug 14, 2004)

Good news (I hope).

I found the following article on PC Magazine's web site from 2 years ago. The same thing happened to one of their employees and he wrote an article about it.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,720052,00.asp

I sent him an e-mail earlier tonight, and he replied with the following just a few minutes ago:



> Good news. This, it turns out, was a glitch brought on by a programming change in AOL's IM service. AOL knows about it and is halfway through fixing it. You and all the other folks affected (5 -to-10,000 AIM users) should be able to get back onto the service within a couple of days.


 Granted, he doesn't work for AOL. But he's a member of the tech media, works for ZDNet, who has influence in the industry, so I think he probably knows what he's talking about.

Also, here is an article from E-week, posted yesterday. It looks like this may all be over by the beginning of next week.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1738245,00.asp


----------



## keithboston (Dec 10, 2004)

I too was suspended from AOL IM earlier this week. I had a lengthy discussion with the support folks over in India who just kept reading and re-reading the "AIM is a free service and we don't provide support" script. I asked to be elevated to a supervisor to find out if I was at a dead end. I ended with "Brian Molder" in Bangalor India who refused to give me the AOL headquaters phone number in Virginia. About 10 seconds of Google sleuthing uncovered the 703-265-1000 number. Thanks for keeping that information a secret "Brian".

I called, plead my case and was forwarded to the nicest guy in the executive support elevation department (I may have his department name wrong). He indicated that the issue was internal to AOL, that a good number of users were affected and expected that functionality would be re-instated by Friday (today). In reading the other posts, it looks like this is now Monday the 13th. I am not going to post his name, but will follow up if it's not working by Monday.

I ended my call by thanking him for his time and asking that perhaps the website and call centers in India could be updated with this type of information (especially when the glitch is so wide spread). I think we all are understanding of a free service having troubles if they would just admit there were troubles. To be blocked with no forewarning, no valid reason and no means of support is just annoying.


----------



## keithboston (Dec 10, 2004)

here is a list of spokepeople for AOL, obviously Krista Thomas at 703-265-5880 is the one to call on Monday if the service isn't restored

http://www.corp.aol.com/press/mediacontacts.shtml


----------



## abuscemi (Dec 10, 2004)

Found this forum doing a search for this problem - I have the same issue w/ my aim account. Thanks for the info here and for the email address which I just sent an email to!

- Andy


----------



## Koala72 (Dec 4, 2004)

Check out this article at eWeek related to the topic:

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1738245,00.asp

also see discussion on Slashdot:

http://slashdot.org


----------



## bskyysun3 (Dec 11, 2004)

I am having the same problem with my main AIM account! When I tried signing on my screenname "********" around December 5 (7th?), 2004, I received the error "Sign on blocked. Click More Info for details."

Actually, when this happened, I was trying to log on this screenname at a second computer, since I was already signed on this screenname from my other computer at my dorm (which I always keep on and always logged on). So my first thought was that this error was occuring because I was trying to log on two screennames at once. However, I didn't recall this message before, and I had always able to log on a second computer even when already signed in another one, although I received a AOL System Message after I logged on. However, since this time I couldn't even log into my screenname, I immediately became suspicious that someone had hacked my password or wanted to play a joke on me. I couldn't think of why anyone would target me, or who would do this. I checked the email associated with my AIM account, and found it had not been changed, and surely if someone had changed the password on my account they would change my email too so I could not recovered it, provided they were decently intelligent.

Upon click on "More Info," I was taken to http://www.aim.com/errors/SUSPENDED_n.adp?ccode=us&lang=en, a page giving several reasons why my account have been blocked.

I am more concerned of losing my main screenname I have been using since middle school, which has sort of become a personal identity, than the buddies, although I certainly have many buddies that I do not want to lose. I have not made a backup of my buddy list for over a year and wish not to lose my buddy list.

I've tried all the things listed to reactivate my account on the page titled "Your Screen Name is blocked from signing in to the AIM service."


> Your Screen Name is blocked from signing in to the AIM service. There are several reasons why you may have received this message:
> Screen Names that were previously used on AOL but have been cancelled or suspended, can no longer be used on AIM. This includes both master accounts and sub-accounts. In order to continue using this Screen Name on AIM, please reactivate the account on AOL.
> 
> AOL Screen Names that have one or more of the following Parental Controls set will no longer able to use AIM, even if they have previously been able to do so:
> ...


1.) Since I've never used AOL before so this does not apply to me.
2.) Since this is not an AOL screen name, this does not apply to me.
3.) I am 18, and the birthdate I entered corresponds to this age. I tried doing the age verification process but it seems to be down.
4.) I only use my AIM for communicating with friends and family and never violated the terms of service!

I tried to change my password, but was not successful. When I entered my screenname, however, an error pops up: "The service you are trying to reach is temporariliy unavailable - please try your request again." Now, this was about 3 days ago. I am STILL getting this error today.

I never quite completely rule out the possibility that someone changed my password, however. I post my screenname on a lot of websites so it is possible that someone would get a hold of it, run brute-force password hacking program, and hack into my password. My AIM password isn't that easy to guess, but it's not the most secure password either, as it contains a dictionary word and no numbers, and no combination of lower and capital letters, and only 6 letters, so I wouldn't be TOO surprised if someone had nothing better to do and decided to hack my account.

I read the "AGREEMENT TO RULES OF USER CONDUCT " in detail:


> By posting information in or otherwise using any communications service, chat room, message board, newsgroup, software library, or other interactive service, including but not limited to AOL Instant Messenger, that may be available to you on or through this site, you agree that you will not upload, post, or otherwise distribute or facilitate distribution of any content -- including text, communications, software, images, sounds, data, or other information -- that:
> 
> is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another's privacy, tortious, contains explicit or graphic descriptions or accounts of sexual acts (including but not limited to sexual language of a violent or threatening nature directed at another individual or group of individuals), uses vulgar language in the creation of a Screen Name (AIM) or otherwise violates America Online's rules or policies or these Rules of User Conduct;
> victimizes, harasses, degrades, or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability;
> ...


Not that I have done anything unlawful, impersonated anyone, or sent bulk mail through their servers, etc., but they don't even have access to this kind of information that take place through personal conversations! Perhaps they monitor their chatrooms, but I don't chat in those spam-bot filled rooms. Did someone file a fallacious report that I have done one of these inappropriate thngs and as a result violated their terms of conduct? Again, I couldn't think of who would do this, or why, much less how they even managed to justify such a claim to make AOL believe them.

So I click on "age verification" seeing that is the only possible way out of this. Perhaps, I think, I may have entered my birthdate incorrectly, although I was pretty sure this wasn't the case. Unfortunately, their service was down. Besides, this was sort of suspicious, and not a foolproof method of verifying one's age, since it's easy to forge a valid credit card number.

However, 
I was relieved to read the following message from 
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1738245,00.asp



> AOL Locks Out IM Users
> By Matt Hicks and Ryan Naraine
> December 9, 2004
> 
> ...


Before I read this, though, I sent AIM Support the following letter:

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ying X Gao 
To: [email protected] 
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 11:18 PM
Subject: help!!! can't log into AIM account: ********

Dear AIM,
My aim name is: ******** and as of around December 5, 2004, I find that I cannot log into my account!
I've tried all the things listed to reactivate my account:
1.) Since I've never used AOL before so this does not apply to me.
2.) Since this is not an AOL screen name, this does not apply to me.
3.) I am 18, and the birthdate I entered corresponds to this age. I tried doing the age verification process but it seems to be down.
4.) I only use my AIM for communicating with friends and family and never violated the terms of service!

Here is my info:
sn: ********
email: ******
password: ******

Please help with this. If this is similar to a bug a few years ago in which some people were accidentally mistagged as underage, I would truly appreciate it if you can reactivate my screenname again. I've had this screenname since middle school and would like to be able to use it again. Also, I had a lot of buddies on my buddy list that are crucial, but I don't remember all of the screennames and never backed them up.

Thanks for your time,
Ying



NiceGirl said:


> THIS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU TOO IF YOU'RE AN AIM USER....
> 
> Since contacting AIM support is not working lets confront the issue in the following manner, please join me by contacting the media. In your email SUBJ box type in:
> AOL IM holding users accountable for THEIR error.
> ...


At first, I wasn't going to do this, since AOL is already aware of the issue and says a fix will come soon, but decided to anyways.

Here's my letter I sent:
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ying X Gao 
To: [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] 
Cc: [email protected] ; [email protected] 
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 11:46 PM
Subject: AOL IM holding users accountable for THEIR error

Many people are being banned on AIM for absolutely no reason!
Relevant post on the net regarding this situation:
http://forums.techguy.org/showthread.php?p=2172829#post2172829

When I tried signing on my screenname "********" around December 5, 2004, I received the error "Sign on blocked. Click More Info for details." Upon click on "More Info," I was taken to http://www.aim.com/errors/SUSPENDED_n.adp?ccode=us&lang=en, a page giving several reasons why my account have been blocked. I've tried all the things listed to reactivate my account:
1.) Since I've never used AOL before so this does not apply to me.
2.) Since this is not an AOL screen name, this does not apply to me.
3.) I am 18, and the birthdate I entered corresponds to this age. I tried doing the age verification process but it seems to be down.
4.) I only use my AIM for communicating with friends and family and never violated the terms of service!

I am more concerned of losing my main screenname I have been using since middle school, which has sort of become a personal identity, than the buddies, although I certainly have many buddies that I do not want to lose. I have not made a backup of my buddy list for over a year and wish not to lose my entire buddy list. AOL is making a big mistake here, suspending my and other people's accounts for absolutely no reason. Although AOL is already infamous for sending out millions of unwanted AOL cds, this is absolutely unacceptable business practice. AIM is supposed to be a free service, and there should be no reason for them to do this. Is this just a plan to get people to PAY to reinstate their accounts?

--Ying



bumpper said:


> I had over 150 buddies on both screens, I heard the limit was 150 would this cause me to be blocked?
> 
> You can also use ICQ 2003b or newer to talk with people on aim, thats what I'm doing for nw. Just click Add then type in their aim screen name (if you know it). If anyone knows anything I can do to get unblocked let me know, aol doesn't seem to have tech support for aim users.


I'm not sure if the number of buddies is causing the problem, although this is possible, since my screenname that was blocked had over 150 buddies, I believe. However, I have another screenname that has just as many buddies and it has not been blocked.

Since it appears this issue will probably be resolved soon, I will temporarily use another screenname for now and wait a few more days. Follow-ups will be posted if there are any news regarding this situation. In the mean time, I encourage you to swarm AOL and the MEDIA with emails and phone calls in hopes of clearing this situation up faster!

Updates:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1738245,00.asp

4:30 PM. Sa 12/11/04.
Please report your problem to AOL:
http://www.aim.com/help_faq/report.adp?aolp=

--Ying


----------



## abuscemi (Dec 10, 2004)

- my aim account is back up again - and buddy list is intact!

Andy


----------



## skizero (Dec 12, 2004)

One of Four accounts are back up, buddly list was intact. Still waiting on the other three, well, mainly just my primary.

For those who can't wait till the fix and need your buddy list, there's a file named "userinfo.bag" that, though scrambled, has all your buddies listed. The file is found in (default location in XP) "C:\Documents and Settings\**XP Login Name**\Application Data\Aim\**AOL SN**\userinfo.bag" Not that this is for XP, other versions of windows will have it under the user profile directory or possibly in the AOL install directory. Open the file with a text editor such as Notepad.

There will be many other extra characters, but your buddies should be visible, and you should be able to make them out to manually re-enter your buddy list into a new screen name. Other settings such as away messages can be found in the Registry under "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\America Online\AOL Instant Messenger (TM)\CurrentVersion\Users\**ScreenName**" (away messages under 'IAmGoneList"). Hope this is helpful, and hope they fix things soon.


----------



## kb1igm (Dec 13, 2004)

I'm not sure if this has come through the forum yet, I just breezed through a few of the posts....
I had this same problem with three of my screen names, and did some research allowing me to come across this thread
I also found this....
http://news.com.com/AOL+shuts+out+s...2.html?part=rss&tag=5487842&subj=news.1038.20
really quickly, it says that an undisclosed number of AIM accounts were mixed into a batch of screen names that were inactive for more than 12 months, and set for deactivation from AOL
The problem was noticed (probably from the thousands of complaints AOL must have gotten) and should be fixed completely by Monday (Dec. 13th)
I hope this eases some of the worries that many of you have from being booted like that. Two of my screen names have recently been reactivated, but I am still waiting for the _important_ one. Also, the buddy lists seem to be gone. I hope that is just an error linked to something more local and fixed quickly.

KB1IGM


----------



## a0316s (Dec 8, 2004)

I still dont have my either of my two screen names back this is such b.s. Hows everyones SN status as of now?


----------



## keithboston (Dec 10, 2004)

12:20 here on the east coast and still blocked - this is now becoming annoying


----------



## skizero (Dec 12, 2004)

9:00 PM EST, 2 of 4 of the screennames are still not working.... All I care about is my primary, and that one is currently being blocked. How are other people's luck? Is it just me? Any word on AOL's progress?

Marc


----------



## jrtmx (Dec 9, 2004)

Still can't get on


----------



## keithboston (Dec 10, 2004)

8am on Tuesday, still blocked here


----------



## a0316s (Dec 8, 2004)

still blocked 1020 am...this is starting to get really retarded...i didnt mind waiting til monday but aol is just obviously comprised of liars...


----------



## zackboll (Dec 8, 2004)

got mine back

Zack


----------



## kb1igm (Dec 13, 2004)

all 3 of my blocked screen names came back by the end of Monday, with the buddy lists and everything else intact


----------



## mega-volt (Dec 6, 2004)

mine is back


----------



## a0316s (Dec 8, 2004)

one of mine is back but not the important one...im so freakin pissed rite now its just such an annoying inconvienence that I SHOULD'NT have to deal with.


----------



## Nannypoo (Dec 16, 2004)

Ok, so its now Thursday, three days after what AIM promised that our accounts would be reactivated. But mine is still unable to connect. Is anyone else out there still unable to connect or am I the only one? Does anyone know of any number or e-mail where I can actually get a human response?


----------



## a0316s (Dec 8, 2004)

I cant either im soo pisssed rite now.


----------



## jrtmx (Dec 9, 2004)

Mine finally worked again yesterday, so I think there slowly fixing the names so they work again.


----------



## a0316s (Dec 8, 2004)

ne1 still blocked...i am


----------



## JumpingJacks (Dec 21, 2004)

Yea, i'm still blocked. How long is it going to take for AOL to unblock everyone?


----------



## toil (Dec 5, 2004)

As far as I know they are done restoring accounts. Unfortunately, there are still thousands of accounts still blocked - including my main one as well. The accounts they never bothered restoring tend to begin with the letter A, B, E and F, from what I can tell. Just about everything else is back to normal. Someone needs to inform aol that they didn't restore EVERYONES accounts. I've tried telling them with the "report a bug" on aim.com, but apparently they just ignore my messages.


----------



## JumpingJacks (Dec 21, 2004)

Are you sure about this?

If its true, that's messed up.

That's the screenname most of my friends know and it would be a problem to have to tell everyone my new one (if i make one). 

I tried e-mailing AOL, but everyone knows they dont do anything.

Is there ANY way that we can get them to realize the problem still isn't completely fixed?


----------



## a0316s (Dec 8, 2004)

has ne1 had their account restored over the past few days?


----------



## Nannypoo (Dec 16, 2004)

No, unfortunately my account is STILL suspended. As of today, it has been well over three weeks since I have been last able to login. I was hoping it would not come to this but I will give Krista Thomas (Head of AIM services) a call and let her know the situation has not yet been resolved.


----------



## aw614 (Jan 14, 2005)

bumping topic,
does anyone still have a problem?

I recently had this happen to me today with my aol account suspended in the middle of a conversation too. My alternate screen name works though.
I use AOL also but I use PPOE to connect online and I use aim to log onto my aim name and now I can't check email or log on. 

ALso I tried to use regular aol to go on my screen name and it says I need to go on the master account. I guess I'll see what happens when my dad gets home. But thats not until monday. 

also thanks for the tip on the buddy list location in xp, I was able to update what I needed too.


----------



## Nannypoo (Dec 16, 2004)

Well I finally got my screen name back last week so I believe they are still in the process of re-activating them. They must have one guy going through each individual sn checking the "active" boxes or something  So those of you who are still in the dark just hang tight as they will eventually get around to ya'll.


----------



## JumpingJacks (Dec 21, 2004)

Finally, it came back 2 days ago.


----------



## cisco2004 (Nov 4, 2003)

I come in here once or twice a day.


----------



## confuseddd (Jul 25, 2005)

hmmm it is currently july 25 2005 at 1:20 and i have read previous posts about the "sign on block" eroor message but i have read they have been posted 2 years ago and some of those users screen names been fixed already but mine just got the message about 25 minutes ago and i never saved any of those screen names .............someone who has got their screeen name fixed plz tell me how to fix mine


----------



## confuseddd (Jul 25, 2005)

...


----------



## prosk8er181 (Jul 29, 2005)

i am having the same problem and it happened about the same time as it happened to u. maybe we can talk about the issuse and we can do somthing about it. my sn is prosk8er633


----------



## confuseddd (Jul 25, 2005)

fff i cant stand it--------------------------------------------------------------------------- i dont have a phone and aims the only way i can communicate with people  :down: :down: -slamming keyboard- i hope it gets unblocked


----------



## karlee22 (Aug 9, 2005)

the same problem occurred with me over two weeks ago and i have sent around 5 e-mails so far to AOL & AIM either with a generic response or no response at all... it makes me feel a little better to know i'm not the only one experiencing this problem. but at the same time i'm very frustrated. if anyone has a breakthrough in restoring their service please let me know!


----------



## Dexisdeadly (Aug 20, 2005)

You all are idiots.... If you dont know whats going on then dont say anything....  KThnx, Hi, I am from the "Aim Programming Scene", Which is mostly kids trying to create programs to "Flood Chatrooms to own them" yet some kids dont make there own program. Anyways, these programmers have disscovered exploits into how to suspened and Block a SignOn. Now what they did with that is, Made a private program, and what that did was Do the methode of the exploite and do it on repeate for random names. everyone here that says there screen name got deleted, that was totally random and Im sorry , Unless you find a way to unsuspened screen names, then Good Luck  If any questions still remain, IM me on aim - PXZ0


----------



## karlee22 (Aug 9, 2005)

why did AOL admit it was their fault for the problem and had everyone's screen names restored back in january if it was "programmers" that were just blocking people for the hell of it?


----------



## Dexisdeadly (Aug 20, 2005)

To tell you the truth, Aol and aim dont care about the "Free Aim Screen names". if its for aol, maybe, but for aim they dont really care. unless you want to do all this crap with aim, go ahead. I know alot of the people that know how to ban signons


----------



## rintin4 (Aug 26, 2005)

hey...not sure if this is exactly the same problem or not, but hoping someone can help me. About a week ago when I try to log in i get an error message saying username or password is not valid. I know i am using the correct one because my friends are abloe to access it thru their machine. Additionally i tried a different username and password on my computer and it works. The only thing htat doesnt work is my id on my machine. If anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate the help.

THanks


----------



## confuseddd (Jul 25, 2005)

when the message ' sign on blocked. click for more details.' appears and if i click for more details it wants age verification so it wants an credit card # is it a virus sort of thing where people r trying to block screen names so that they can go through age verification and get their credit card # and steal alot of money or is it a actual aol site with licenses that really does need age verification.......but if i do go through age verification will i be able to use my screen name again and not lose money


----------



## bnecksoftball07 (Aug 25, 2006)

my problem is similar to yours except mine says im trying to sign on to soon wen the last time i signed on was yesterday can someone help me on this one???


----------

