Other AOL Users Say :-(

Last week’s column item on the use of emoticons--those sideways smiley faces and other facial expressions made out of punctuation marks--seems to have touched a nerve, especially with some AOL subscribers.

The item was about Ralph Albie, an AOL subscriber in Fountain Valley who fought with the company over its practice of disconnecting subscribers after their online sessions were idle for 45 minutes. An AOL tech support rep responded to Albie’s online complaints with some rather flaccid remarks punctuated with :-) and other emoticons, infuriating Albie even more.

Albie was upset because his sessions were being disconnected even if he was downloading software, and also because he felt AOL did not warn subscribers about the practice.

But to other AOL subscribers who have had trouble getting through to the popular service’s phone lines, Albie is the one who is infuriating. “Why did this person tangle up lines if he wasn’t using it?” e-mailed one reader. Albie “was more of the problem than AOL’s stupid emoticons.”

“Why is Mr. Albie leaving his machine online for 45 minutes when he is not using it?” said another. “Here is my response to Mr. Albie :-)~ And here is one for the L.A. Times that lets stuff like this in the paper :-)~~.”

Those last two emoticons, if you couldn’t figure it out, are sticking out their tongues.

Greg Miller covers high technology for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at greg.miller@latimes.com.