Talk:Using AOL and AIM mail

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Why were imap.aim.com and smtp.aim.com removed? This article covers AIM too. I haven't checked for years but you used to have to use imap.cs.com if you wanted to use SSL with AIM due to the SSL certificate only mentioning that node name. The AOL Mobile instructions are the only ones I've found that explicitly state SSL is supported. Browsing the different instructions most don't specify any port for IMAP, and specify port 587 for SMTP without mentioning SSL at all.

AOL documentation consistently makes a point of documenting different mail servers for AOL and AIM. We might not want to follow their example anymore, but some explanation (and rationale) should be given if you change it.

I logged into AIM mail using a browser and the help states: "The incoming mail (POP) server address is: imap.aol.com and imap.aim.com for IMAP and pop.aol.com or pop.aim.com for POP3". I don't remember it supporting POP before, and I don't find it in the Unofficial AOL Mail FAQ etc. (which hasn't been updated for 2 years). Can somebody confirm POP accounts work with both AOL and AIM accounts?

Why were the external links to the AOL Mail extension removed? No explanation was given. Tanstaafl 08:39, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

I also don't understand why Elvey removed that information [1]. I personally think that the article should be restored to the earlier version pending an explanation but I'll leave that up to you. Alice 10:56, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
IIRC, This: http://kb.mozillazine.org/index.php?title=Using_AOL_and_AIM_mail&diff=next&oldid=34928 is the edit I INTENDED to make. An editing mistake, I guess. I think I was not familiar with wiki editing back then? My comment doesn't fit with the current edit history. Elvey 20:10, 30 July 2008 (UTC)
I removed that edit since its it causes confusion. Its not a AIM specific limitation. Unless you use something such as S/MIME or the enigmail extension any messages you send will not be sent encrypted. A more appropiate location to discuss what using SSL implies might be the Message security article. Tanstaafl 04:44, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

AIM account settings

I was wondering, if we don't get a reply justifying why the AIM account settings were removed, we might want to create a separate section of this article for AIM account settings, instead of restoring the "combined" table for AOL/AIM settings. The new AIM table could be placed under an AIM Account heading, which could be moved to the end of the article. For example, the following table is based on what's listed at http://about.aol.com/faq/openmailaccess#othermail and is how I have my AIM IMAP account set up in SeaMonkey and Thunderbird:

AIM account

Incoming Server (IMAP) imap.aim.com
Port 143
Security Settings Use secure connection: Never
Use secure authentication: Leave unchecked
Username Your screen name (do not include @aim.com)
Outgoing Server (SMTP) smtp.aim.com
Security and Authentication Use secure connection: No
Use name and password: Should be checked
Username Your screen name (do not include @aim.com)
Port 587
Description Name Whatever you wish

Alice 00:53, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

I didn't notice that Elvey's changes had already been undone before I added the above suggestion. It still might be worth considering, if anyone wants to do another article edit. Alice 01:21, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

Good idea. I'll create a separate AIM section and rename the article to "Using AOL and AIM mail". Tanstaafl 01:31, 11 November 2007 (UTC)