This guide shows the work behind sharing a screen-name sign-in across services. Dated July 3, 2002, it covers sign-in and registration, profile synchronization, sign-out, privacy and partner branding. The 67-page reference combines a technical overview with programming material. These selected pages preserve the original document layout.
AOL’s help desk had its own training material for getting employees connected. This March 2002 SERA 2.5 module runs to 44 pages, covering the client, troubleshooting and remote-access support. The cover and selected interface pages preserve the training document’s original appearance. It is a historical look at AOL’s internal support tools, rather than current connection instructions.
SERA was the other kind of AOL sign-on: a way for employees to reach the corporate intranet remotely. The enclosed user guide is dated November 8, 2001 and covers Windows, Linux, Solaris and Mac clients. The archive includes the 19-page guide alongside platform-specific installers. The screenshots here come from that guide; the old software has not been installed or tested.
Backordered, canceled or shipped? AOL’s OrderINQ reference gave support staff a list of codes for checking an order’s progress. This two-page document explains statuses such as backorder notices, cancellations and completed payments. The pictured page is the original reference table, not a customer’s order history.
Not every file in this archive is a prog or publishing tool. This 27-page document is an employee insurance booklet for AOL, with an August 2000 effective date and a January 2002 revision. It belongs in a company-history collection rather than the AOL Progs section. This is a historical document, not information about anyone’s current coverage.
AOL publishers had to think about reporting as well as the page itself. This three-page tracking document discusses URL construction, WebStats, ASPP, Media Metrix and Rainman reporting. It is a small behind-the-scenes snapshot of how publishing teams were asked to measure channels and coordinate a launch.
Before publishing meant opening a browser CMS, AOL had Rainman. This French-language manual from September 1998 walks through pages, links, lists, mini-icons and images inside the service. The 32-page document also covers RM Grinder and ART Press. These are original pages from the manual, showing the tools and layouts publishers worked with—not a recreation of the interface.
There was a lot happening behind that monthly AOL charge. This 112-page Billing System Overview was written to introduce managers and employees to the system’s general capabilities. The archived copy is document version 3.1, dated April 3, 2000. It is an internal systems overview, not a member billing statement.
A snapshot of the PSO Tools menu, with links for RM Grinder & ART Press, Rainman Tool, Visual Publisher Designer and other publishing resources. The purple layout and folder-style list are preserved in this original screenshot.
Lol AOL discs had better distribution than the actual internet. One in the mail, one in a magazine, three in the junk drawer. You could lose the install disc and still find another before Windows finished starting up. At some point it stopped being software and became a household material. That shiny little disc promised a whole new online world, then ended up holding a.....
The PSO Support screen collected help documents and technical resources behind a simple two-column menu. Visible choices include general information, help docs and FAQs, Rainman & Cher2, and Stratus/Advanced Publishing.
