On December 17, AOL's Guides received startling news of a new policy to take effect two days later...

Dear Community Leaders,

Considering the feedback received from Community Leaders during the Safe Kids
and Guidepager group discussions at the "Chat Attack" conference in Long Beach,
we are undertaking a new initiative designed to refocus our AOL GuidePager
program.  

Beginning Friday, December 19, 1997, we will increase our focus and Guide
resources towards support of our AOL kids using Kids Only chat rooms.  At the
same time, adult designated chat rooms will utilize our "Notify AOL"
capability, instead of paging guides. "Notify AOL" chat room buttons or
(keyword: Notify AOL) gives members an easy, one-step mechanism to report chat
complaints directly to the Community Action Team. In addition, we're
undertaking a member education campaign to raise awareness of the "Notify AOL"
feature.  As always, Guides will continue to float throughout the chat areas.

Our original objective in creating the Guide Pager service was to provide an
immediate link to AOL for members experiencing persistent problems in chat
rooms. Our experience, however, has been that the vast majority of usage of
the Guide Pager service has been for routine inquiries. We've found the
"Notify AOL" form to be a much more efficient way to address member questions
and complaints. In addition, using the "Notify AOL" form in public chat rooms
allows us to redirect more of our GuidePager Community Leader staff to the
Kids Only areas. 

During this transition, Keyword: Guide Pager will link to the "Notify AOL"
form, which will educate members about how to report violations. Children will
continue to be able to page a guide via the Guidepager for Kids feature
available within the Kids Only area chat rooms. In the coming months, we will
enhance this program and further tailor it to the Kids Only audience.

Any questions regarding this initiative can be directed to your online
supervisor.

Thanks for your support of this new policy and for your continued hard work in
making AOL a safe and pleasant environment for ALL members.


 The Community Leader Organization

***Remember! Neither the CLO nor AOL will ever send
      an attached file or ask for your password!***