THE PROBLEMS:

1. Graphics and/or images appear to be dark/black/murky looking and not very clear or sharp; some of the graphics/images don't appear; the colors of the images/graphics are terrible.

2. Changes to our website don't appear for hours, or until the next day.

USERS REPORTING THIS PROBLEM:

These problems began years ago with AOL users who were running AOL version 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 for Windows 95/98.  AOL utilizes a customized version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser.  You'll find some weblinks at the bottom which note that this problem does occur with other versions of AOL, including versions for Apple.

BACKGROUND:

I searched a variety of website design webpages as well as newsgroup postings regarding AOL problems in displaying webpage graphics ... and there were a considerable number of complaints that date back to 1998 and earlier.  Apparently, AOL utilizes their own proprietary 'compression' software which takes standard gif and jpg image files, and 'squeezes' them into smaller sizes.  Part of that compression is to convert these standard image and graphic files to .art files.

However, that AOL compression software appears to cause havoc with many image files, often rendering them unviewable, with incorrect colors, etc.  A variety of AOL users and website developers have noted other problems such as images not appearing and images with murky colors or dark bands across them.

As to website updates not appearing on AOL, there appears to be an answer to that issue.  To 'speed up' Internet access, AOL 'caches' webpages internally (on their servers) and in their proprietary compressed format.  For example, suppose AOL user 'Joe' was the first user of the day to access our website.  AOL would store the pages and images internally, and subsequent AOL users would access the copies of our webpages that AOL has stored --- they would not see the actual webpages and graphics at our website.

For example --- suppose I made a website update in mid-morning.  The probability is that AOL users won't see those changes until later in the day or the next day when AOL refreshes their internally cached versions of our webpages and image files.

The AOL image compression is explained at: http://webinfo.aol.com/compgraphics.html

Want more details on this AOL caching of webpages and images.  Following is a link to AOL where they explain this: http://webinfo.aol.com/caching.html.

From that webpage, following is a quote on how/what AOL stores on its own servers:

"When using a browser integrated with the AOL client software, AOL members make web requests through a set of caching proxy servers. If the servers have a current copy of a requested web object, it will be served to the member directly from the cache server instead of the request going over the Internet to the origin web server. AOL will cache most types of web objects including JavaScript files, HTML, and images."

THE SOLUTION:

Apparently, both issues can be solved by AOL users 'turning off' this compression. With the compression turned off, AOL users will directly access the websites and graphics (and not utilize the AOL 'cached' webpages or AOL compressed images).

Following are some AOL instructions on clearing your hard drive cache: http://help.aol.co.uk/technical/clear-the-browser-cache/article/20060816080809990006

Note that you do NOT have to be connected to AOL to make changes in your AOL preferences/options.

Some time ago, AOL also issued an instruction on clearing its cache so you can view the current webpages at a site: "Hold down the 'Control' key on your keyboard and simultaneously click on the Browser Reload icon while the browser window is active. This will clear your proxy cache and display the latest data from the Website."

There are various pages on the Internet describing these AOL issues. Following are a few links containing instructions for changing the AOL compression setting and clearing your cache files:

http://www.java.com/en/download/help/aol.xml#Optimize%20your%20AOL
http://www.illinois.gov/helpdesk/browsers.cfm
http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,57988,pg,3,00.asp
http://www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/GOES/aolusers.html
http://www.psitech.net/aol_image_compression.htm
http://www.sinnettbuilders.com/AOL-Users.htm
http://www.shomler.com/aol_disc.htm
http://www.timduffy.com/home/aol.htm
http://www.afterimagegallery.com/aol.htm
http://www.ghh.com/html/aol_image_compression.html
http://www.graphic-mac.com/internet/tools.html
http://www.basketware.com/aol.htm

CAUTIONS & DISCLAIMER:

The instructions on the above websites require some expertise in navigating within the AOL options and menus. There is also a requirement to understand and interpret the instructions based on your personal computer and your version of AOL. Since I have no control over your PC and level of knowledge, I will accept no responsibility for problems caused by the above instructions. And I can not provide assistance for your particular setup and configuration. Print and carefully read the instructions. If you feel uncomfortable or confused with these instructions, don't make any changes --- ask for help and assistance from a friend, neighbor or relative who has the necessary expertise ... or check with AOL Support/Help.

Webmaster
Updated August, 2007