Mis-attributed posts?

January 12, 2002 8:58 PM

Today my posts are attributed to "MrBrett." The other day it was "allpaws." I need simple answers, apparently. Is it aol??
posted by G_Ask to Bugs at 8:58 PM (16 comments total)

Thank you willnot and gleemax for your previous help. My preferences ( compressed ), as gleemas noted, are in place. Yes or No --again, let's keep it simple-- is it aol? That is easy to change, as I'd like to avoid this in the future. Email me privately if necessary. Thanks in advance.
posted by G_Ask at 9:04 PM on January 12, 2002

Specifying the parameters under which you're willing to accept help isn't going to bring out all the best possible advice, but:

If given a choice between "It's broken because AOL sucks" or "It's not broken because AOL sucks," the smart money is on "AOL sucks." Ditching AOL doesn't guarantee fixing your problem, but it certainly seems like a good bet.
AOL does lots of very poorly managed transparent caching, and getting out from behind it can eliminate all sorts of non-deterministic browser behavior.
posted by majick at 10:07 PM on January 12, 2002

But there surely are lots of AOLers here, no? And I've never heard of anyone but this so-called (kidding) G_Ask having this problem.
posted by rodii at 10:13 PM on January 12, 2002

Have you considered the posibility that you are both insane and some kind of super hacker?
posted by Doug at 10:47 PM on January 12, 2002

The easy answer: instead of using AOL's built-in browser, which is a version of Internet Explorer, launch Internet Explorer or Netscape (Mozilla) or Opera alongside AOL instead. This completely bypasses AOL's caching and uses AOL as if it were just another Internet provider.
posted by kindall at 10:53 PM on January 12, 2002

And grab a copy of Ad-aware, while you're at it, to ferret out any spyware that might be making things wonky. Can't hurt...
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:02 PM on January 12, 2002

I think it's reasonable to blame pretty much everything on AOL. I know I do, and I don't even use them.

This thread might help throw some light onto what's going on.

posted by lucien at 3:43 AM on January 13, 2002

Maybe you really are MrBrett and allpaws. Y'know those blackouts you've been having???

Also, dump AOL. Even if it's not broken. If you've made it to MeFi, it's time to dump AOL.
posted by jpoulos at 7:54 AM on January 13, 2002

MetaFilter became the reason to cut our nails short and brush our teeth in the morning.
posted by dong_resin at 9:17 AM on January 13, 2002

Ack! You've got me doubting my existence! That's something to contemplate, so close to one's birthday...
posted by allpaws at 11:00 AM on January 13, 2002

allpaws, have you seen the movie fight club? Is jpoulos on to something here? Do strangers come up to you and wonder why you don't recognize them?

I wonder how many metafilter uses connect to the internet through AOL. If this problem is attributable to AOL, shouldn't we see this happening more frequently?
posted by bragadocchio at 4:26 PM on January 13, 2002

Strangers? Sometimes I don't remember family members! I just thought it was early Alzheimer's. I smell a conspiracy...
posted by allpaws at 6:16 AM on January 14, 2002

Strangers? Sometimes I don't remember family members! I just thought it was early Alzheimer's. I smell a conspiracy...
posted by allpaws at 6:17 AM on January 14, 2002

Oops
posted by allpaws at 6:18 AM on January 14, 2002

Pretty soon people are gonna to be talking about that there Cabal-thing again.
posted by fidelity at 1:20 PM on January 14, 2002

The what, now?
posted by dong_resin at 1:55 PM on January 14, 2002