Last week, I began to get error messages showing AOL was giving the reason
for about 15 subscribers (out of probably 175 on my list) that there was an
objectionable URL:

(reason: 554-:  (HVU:B1) http://postmaster.info.aol.com/errors/554hvub1.html

I called the contact number given and explained to the rep that I was the
owner of two of the three websites (I maintain them for bird images in
support of my list) and the third was for the archives at the University of
Florida.  The rep very tartly told him I had to have proof that these URLs
were okay -- not accepting that they have been okay ever since I added a
bottom banner with them in it probably a year and a half ago; that my two
websites use only simple HTML with no additives, and the archives are at the
U. of Florida and Listserv exists on most of the large campuses of the
United States and other lists I know use them in banners at other schools as
well.

Then after writing the people concerned, I found that almost all of the
bounced messages were actually being delivered, sometimes in a spam file
that AOL maintains apparently, not all but most.  I checked by sending a
message with the URLs, both individually and collectively, in it to a person
on the list who received them from me without any trouble, and replied by
sending them back to me.

Now, the URL problem apparently has suddenly been dropped, and for every
message posted to FLORIDABIRDS-L, I am getting an error message for the same
people as follows: http://postmaster.info.aol.com/errors/554rlyb1.html
Somewhere along the way, the same message with the same URL has been sent
for one cs.com and two wmconnect.com as well.  I surmised these servers are
subentities under the AOL aegis.  From the page accessed by this URL, it
appears that they are saying there is a looping problem.  I have
corresponded extensively with one of the people named as being on those on
AOL group.  She has missed some messages, but otherwise has no serious
problems.

I personally have an account with wmconnect.com (Wal-Mart) because it is
cheap and because I use it when I am away from home, which is very seldom.

I have posted here on this list that I have never had any trouble with AOL.
Let me say, they are making up for lost time.

To begin with I was sending the error message to the AOLers so they would
get the message, but I have tired of that, and I think they have too.

Has anyone had similar problems, and if so, did you resolve them, and how?

Barbara Passmore