LETTERS

AOL, ONLINE COLOSSUS

It was no great surprise to see AOL chairman Steve Case on your cover [BUSINESS, Sept. 22]. But he is newsworthy not so much as a champion of a burgeoning industry but rather as a man with more dissatisfied customers than anyone else on the planet. RICK RAUCH Boulder, Colo.

I found Case's statement that he wants his company to be "customer friendly" quite ironic. If it is true, he needs to give his customer-service representatives some lessons in "friendly." One day, after being an AOL subscriber for a couple of years, I was suddenly denied access. My inquiry into the reason for it met with rudeness. Later, AOL wanted me to reactivate my account. Sorry! CHARLES A. OVERTON Lexington, Ky.

How happy would you be if you purchased a television set and it remained blank every other time you turned it on? AOL has the number of subscribers it has because it advertises heavily, much as McDonald's customers outnumber those of restaurants with superior food. Once the Internet service providers catch on to this fact and begin their own mass-market advertising, AOL's numbers will soon crumble. DAVID CLARK Cincinnati, Ohio

What a brilliant strategy WorldCom used in its deal with AOL and CompuServe! By strengthening its Internet capabilities and transferring the moribund portion of CompuServe to AOL, WorldCom will greatly benefit from the exponential growth of the Internet. SIMON LICHENSTEIN Houston

You called CompuServe's buyout by AOL "a humiliating defeat." Far from it. The overwhelming feeling at CompuServe is more like relief--at finally being out from under its former uninterested master, H&R Block. AOL, though surely not the first choice for a new owner, is certainly better than Block. MARK LIBUCHA Hilliard, Ohio

So Steve Case has won the war? I don't think so. At about the same time as his announcement concerning CompuServe, AOL slowed down to about 20% of its former speed--which was never anything flashy. The other day I used a stopwatch to measure the time it took between arriving at the Welcome menu and seeing a news headline on the screen. Five minutes! Sending a message to AOL to inquire or complain is like trying to communicate with the President of North Korea. All I've received from AOL is a form letter addressing all kinds of problems I don't have and bragging about how attentive it is to subscribers. WILLIAM HARRINGTON Greenwich, Conn.

One point of advice for Steve Case: Spend more time developing a quality software package and less time moving to monopolize the online market. BRIAN DOBBERTEEN Bonita, Calif.

I get a busy signal from four separate phone lines on an average of three to four times a week when trying to log on to AOL. And once I finally get into AOL, half the time I can't get out to the Internet! I can't talk about "turkey breasts" for fear of being censored--or worse, sent into cyberoblivion for saying a nasty word. And lastly, AOL commits to unlimited access for $19.95 to get us yahoos to join, and now reneges on its promise while planning to charge us extra for its new games area. Then Joshua Cooper Ramo, in "How AOL Lost the Battles but Won the War," has the gall to call me "cantankerous"! I think I have every right! PAUL DEEMING St. Paul, Minn.

Instead of sending out millions of discs and spending millions of dollars to advertise on TV, AOL should be increasing capacity, manning busy phones and responding to E-mail from us existing members. I'd describe AOL's popularity as miles wide but less than an inch deep! Many of us keep our accounts only because friends send us E-mail there. NEAL ROSCOE Studio City, California

You ask if we remember "the mess over busy signals" as if it no longer exists. As a current AOL subscriber, I can attest that in many areas access is still a problem. Case and AOL management are as out of touch with their customers' desires as anyone can be. From its failure to have enough technical-support representatives to its censorship policies, AOL demonstrates that it cares about its stockholders more than its customers. And let's not forget AOL's unrelenting sales tactics. If aliens ever find the Voyager probe, their first question will be, "What does '50 free hours of AOL' mean?" WILLIAM ANGUS Maywood, N.J.

Nothing has changed at AOL from the time it commenced unlimited service at a fixed rate to the present. It is still next to impossible to sign on during prime time. AOL's E-mail is unreliable. As a subscriber, I have adopted a wait-and-see attitude, but I'm not holding my breath. JOHN GUYANT Indianapolis, Ind.

UNABOMBER SURVIVOR GELERNTER

David Gelernter is an amazing and gifted writer [BOOK EXCERPT, Sept. 22]. His very personal account of violence and recovery after surviving a Unabomber attack carries the reader along with him, inside his mind and heart, from moment to moment. Gelernter's courage is in his compelling honesty and intimate detail. Any of us who dare to even attempt to write must thank him for the gift of this account. BRUCE T. WILLIAMS Renton, Wash.

Damning the current Unabomber suspect, Gelernter writes, "Hut man's goal was to be the country's No. 1 criminal." He also says a 1993 bombing was "Mr. Bucolic-Cottage-in-the-Countryside's first outing in several years." Was it? Gelernter should not invoke the word justice in urging the death penalty for a man yet to be tried, let alone convicted. GORDON BLACK Mendocino, Calif.

THE MEANING OF MOTHER TERESA

Mother Teresa, the Nobel Laureate, is said to have left only two saris and a bucket as her worldly possessions, but she is more respected than modern Queens, Kings and billionaires [WORLD, Sept. 22]. Is there a lesson here for our materialist world? VINAY MAHAJAN Melbourne

Mother Teresa's love of humanity is eternal. Millions revered her as an incarnation of God. It was disappointing to see that TIME portrayed her within a religious framework, when she was and will remain much above it. MOHAMMAD ISMAT KABIR Brisbane, Australia

I watched coverage of the death of Diana with sadness, and although I am not religious, I wept watching the funeral of Mother Teresa. A billboard in Calcutta bore the apt legend: MOTHER, 1910-ETERNITY. I feel that Mother should have been accorded a special commemorative issue of her own, with her wonderful face on the cover. Both were great women, but Mother Teresa was truly a living saint. BONNY LUSTED Cape Town

KEY TO DIANA'S DEATH

One factor holds the key to the of death of Diana, Princess of Wales [PRINCESS DIANA, Sept. 22]. Unfortunately, the focus appears to be on the irrelevant finding that Henri Paul, the driver of the car, was over the limit. The question I would like to have answered is, Who ordered Paul to speed? Whoever did is responsible for the accident, not Paul. IKECHUKWU AZUONYE London

Not only did the tabloids manage to deflect the anger, but its members all agreed about how we are all to blame. Apparently, we the public wanted the paparazzi to make Diana's life a misery. As I write this, the cause of Princess Diana's death is still not known, but the press caused her misery, not I, and I object to being blamed. SIMON BRUNTON Kalletal, Germany

ROLE OF THE CAMERA

I'm incensed at the focus on the paparazzi [PRINCESS DIANA, 1961-1997, Sept. 15]. I don't think celebrities have a right to privacy. I think the minute you step into public life, you should kiss your privacy goodbye. This is especially true of movie stars, because we the public are their bread and butter. Without the media, they would all have ordinary jobs. But no, they have millions of dollars and enjoy a life-style that the average person can only dream about. ROBYN HOPE Vancouver, British Columbia

I believe a stalker is a stalker whether he has a camera in his hands or a knife or a gun. URSULA DERFLINGER Calgary, Alberta

In contrast to the ravenous hyenas who hounded Diana to her death, there was the great Frenchman Henri Cartier-Bresson, who photographed many celebrities as well as the countless anonymous souls who inhabit his wonderful and empathetic street scenes. He offered these disquietingly relevant words: "One must always take photos with the greatest respect for the subject and for oneself." EDWARD FOX Toronto

NOT THE MARKET, THE MARKETEER

"The dignity of men is inviolable," according to the first paragraph of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. All democracies strive to protect this dignity, even for criminals. Paparazzi are not so civilized [PRINCESS DIANA, 1961-1997, Sept. 15]. We cannot protect dignity through laws. The courage of individuals can, however, and the courage of those responsible in the media can do so more than the consumers. For the media to say people buy the papers because this is what they want is a deplorable excuse for those who claim to be the watchdog for the constitution and human rights. This excuse rings like the one used by Adam and Eve. It has not been credible at any time. PETER M. WILL Hamburg

FUTURE OF THE BRITISH MONARCHY

The monarchy has a genuine part to play in our society [PRINCESS DIANA, Sept. 22], but I hope the royal family recognizes its proper role quickly, or it will fail. The Queen and Prince of Wales eventually and successfully followed the lead of the public in planning Diana's funeral; so should the royals act in the future--but without hesitation. SHEILA EDWARDS Northampton, England

In her own unique way, Diana wonderfully brought a breezy modernity to a nation far too long bound by tradition, heritage and myth. With her loss, it is finally obvious to millions of us how utterly irrelevant the monarchy has become. From the silly kilts to the last-minute concessions at the funeral, "the Firm" has more than ever proved itself to be out of touch with a modern people--and so unnecessary. It is time for us to cast off this "plague of kings." MICHAEL MATT London

Britons' overwhelming reaction to the death of Diana no doubt stemmed in part from her unique efforts to modernize, humanize and gain acceptance for an institution that is a source of great fascination and pride to the British but still an enigma to them. CHRIS LUSHER Jakarta

The future of the British monarchy lies not in the hands of the princess' people but in the royal family. To expect radical and immediate reform is an attempt to hold on to the memory of one person--as remarkable as she was. Much will happen before we are able to say the Princess of Wales changed the face of the monarchy forever. SEAN FRASER Cape Town

I hope the Royal family will show greater empathy for Prince William than it did for his mother when she took on her royal duties. She was only five years older than he is now. MARJORIE MCCLINTOCK Calgary, Alberta

As a Canadian citizen who was born in Wales and reared in England, I have made major adjustments in my views of the monarchy during the past weeks. The House of Windsor last served a purpose during World War II, when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mum) chose not to escape to the safety of remote Balmoral.

Instead, they endured with their people the horror of the blitz in London. The monarchy was, in those terrifying days, relevant and human. Today the royal family has shown us that it has become an irrelevant and valueless commodity. Britain should take what's left of the royals' obscene fortune and distribute it to the shelters and soup kitchens supported by Diana. She then will definitely not have died in vain. NEIL CARTER Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

MIDDLE EAST REALITIES

Rather than a reality check for Arafat and Netanyahu [WORLD, Sept. 15], TIME should consider one for itself. You say that "Netanyahu's hard line stands" for wanting Arafat to abide by the provisions of the Oslo accord, and that Arafat "has usually been the more movable party." Show me one tangible move. All I see are dead Israelis, decreased access for Jews to Jewish holy places, the trading of land for peace, and the call for Israel to allow 100,000 potential terrorists to enter its borders daily. Perhaps Mexico should insist on the return of lands stolen from it by the U.S., and of course it should insist that every day workers who wish to cross the Texas and California borders must be allowed to do so. SAMUEL J. ROSENBLUM New York City

How can it be demanded that Arafat must crack down on terrorism before Netanyahu even thinks about a peace accord? For many years the U.S. has been spending billions of dollars to combat terrorist and militant groups, and it still doesn't know who and where they are or when and where they will strike again. Britain cannot halt the terrorist bombs of Ireland. And Egypt can do nothing to stop its terrorist groups. So how can an immediate halt to terrorism be expected in the Middle East? JOSE HAROLD HEDGER Tenerife, Canary Islands

"VERBATIM" CHALLENGED

Poor Charlton Heston. He learned nothing from his Moses role [NOTEBOOK, Sept. 22]. Our rights are protected by laws and by the Constitution, not by guns. Perhaps his ideal state is Bosnia, where guns have proliferated and law has atrophied. ROGER LOWEN Reston, Va.

PLAYING HARDBALL

I have been a Republican voter for more than 40 years, but I am appalled at Senator Jesse Helms' treatment of Governor William Weld [NOTEBOOK, Sept. 22]. Helms says Weld is soft on drugs, yet Helms has been a principal sponsor of tobacco, which have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people over the years. It is high time the Republicans led the way in significantly reducing the unseemly power of committee chairmen in Congress. GERALD T. FLOM Minneapolis, Minn.

The fight between Weld and Helms involved a lot more than an ambassadorship to Mexico. To become a majority party, Northern Republicans like Weld welcomed people like Helms as part of the overall Southern strategy. Tacit approval of race baiting and the playing of the race card was a large part of this invitation. Now the Northerners wake up to find that Southerners have almost all the leadership posts in both the House and the Senate and that committee chairmen like Helms not only have enormous power but exercise that power in an arrogant and despotic manner. The fight between Weld and Helms was a subtext of a larger fight to determine whether the first Republican President was Lincoln or Jefferson. HENRY L. HAYNES Phoenixville, Pa.

RECYCLED AD GIMMICK

Pasting ads on fruit is not a new idea [NOTEBOOK, Sept. 22]. I did that in 1977 for TWA. We flew in thousands of California oranges, pasted FLY TWA TO CALIFORNIA labels on them and distributed them to travel agents all over New York City. The promotion was a hit. Travel agents loved (and ate) the oranges, and incremental revenue shot up for NYC to LAX and SFO! WILLIAM H. EVANS Garland, Texas