AOL recognizes links differently than the rest of the world (is anyone surprised here?). To get around this, you must be explicit in your link the type of link it is, as well as providing an anchor tag. AOL claims that this allows for easier communication and increased security by reducing the number of ill-created links their members see. See the article below from
for more details.
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AOL and Hyperlinks
AOL is of course the world's biggest ISP, and for many ezines, AOL users will form a substantial part of your readership. Unfortunately addressing these readers may not be as easy as you might think.
AOL has an unusual way of interpreting both HTML and hyperlinks in e-mail, and in particular doesn't make http:// and mailto: links clickable unless you explicitly include an anchor tag.
For most ISPs and e-mail programs if you include text like this:
Create Your Own E-Books
It will end up looking like this (complete with a clickable hyperlink):
Create Your Own E-Books
However the AOL users will see this (without a clickable hyperlink):
Create Your Own E-Books
A simple work round is simply to include two versions of the hyperlink, including one with an explicit anchor tag. So you write:
Create Your Own E-Books
<A HREF="
Users Click Here</A>
Most users will see:
Create Your Own E-Books
<A HREF="
Users Click Here</A>
But your AOL users will see:
Create Your Own E-Books
AOL Users Click Here
A slightly different variation is to include extra spaces around the hyperlink in the anchor tag. This makes both links clickable (kind of) for your non-AOL users.
You write:
Create Your Own E-Books
<A HREF="
">AOL Users Click Here</A>
Most users will see:
Create Your Own E-Books
<A HREF="
">AOL Users Click Here</A>
And your AOL users will see:
Create Your Own E-Books
AOL Users Click Here
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Michael Phipps
Technical Business Analyst
Mercy Health Plans