There are a number of reasons why mail you send to other services might not be arriving. Before we get to them, please narrow down your problem by answering the following questions:

1. To AOL, or the Internet?
2. Do you receive errors?
3. Do you have trouble getting mail through to others on their same service?

Let's start by getting the AOL question out of the way. Mail sent from one AOL member to another (question 1) will always get where it's going -- or you will definitely receive errors (question 2) in the form of an AOL dialog box. The two common errors from one AOL member to another are:

• screenname - This is not a known member.
• screenname - This member is currently not accepting e-mail from your account.

In the first case, that screen name probably doesn't exist. If you've been corresponding with it in the past, it may no longer exist. People change screen names all the time, and may forget to tell people. Or they might have had their account terminated for violating AOL's Terms of Service.

Another possibility is that this person is not even an AOL member, but has a screen name for the purposes of using AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). AIM users appear in many aspects to be AOL members: they can use IMs, they can build AOL Hometown web sites, and they can even post to certain message boards. But they do not have an AOL email address.

If you're absolutely certain that the screen name exists, is spelled correctly, and is an AOL member; they should see Keyword: Customer Service immediately and report that their mailbox is broken.

In the second case, they've configured their Mail Controls in such a manner so as to block mail from you. They may have done so intentionally, or they may have done it accidentally. If the former case, leave them alone. If the latter, try to IM them and let them know that they need to fix their Mail Controls.

If you sent mail to another AOL member who claims it never arrived, wait a short time. Sometimes the AOL mail system can be overloaded, and mail may take hours to be delivered. If, after 24 hours, they still have not received their message, check to make sure you are spelling their screen name correctly. AOL screen names are case-insensitive and spaces are irrelevant. But spelling is critical: it is easy to confuse some letter combinations, such as I1l (i 1 L).

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If the recipient is using an Internet provider, tracking down the problem becomes trickier. But again, your first step should be to evaluate any error messages you might have received.

If you get a dialog box reporting one of the above two errors (not a known member/not accepting mail), check the address for spaces or commas -- neither of which should be in the middle of an Internet email address. You will not normally get those errors when sending to the Internet. (There are exceptions to this rule, as AOL operates a number of "Local Domains" that look like Internet addresses but actually use the same mail system as AOL, and (in most cases) use Mail Controls, Unsend, Status, and instant user unknown feedback.)

If the error is in the form of an email message, probably from an address that looks something like "MAILER-DAEMON," then you'll have to find the part where it explains what's wrong. Some error messages are more specific than others, but many will have a part that says "transcript of session follows."

The most common error, of course, would be the User Unknown error (meaning the email address to which you are writing is not known), looking perhaps something like this:

   ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
<someone@example.com>
 
   ----- Transcript of session follows -----
... while talking to mail.example.com.:
>>> RCPT To:<someone@example.com>
<<< 550 <someone@example.com>... User unknown
550 <someone@example.com>... User unknown

There are many other kinds of errors, of course, and it's impossible to describe them all here. A list of many common errors can be found in AOL Help articles "Why do I get a mailer-daemon error?" and "E-mail Errors." If you run across one that you don't understand and can't track down, post a complete copy to the Members Helping Members "E-Mail Discussions" message board (Windows/Macintosh).

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When sending email to the Internet, it's very important to make sure you have the correct address. If there is even a minor spelling mistake, the message will not go through. You also must make sure the address is constructed properly, with a username followed by an atmark ( @ ) followed by at least two strings of text separated by a dot. More information about what Internet email addresses look like can be found in the AOL Help article "Understanding Internet Addresses."

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If you do not receive any errors, then there's little that can be done. Have them contact their system administrator. It would help if you could give exact dates and times of when you sent messages, so that their system administrator can look through the logs.