Aol proxy cache spider

[vis]

While this subject has bubbled to the top of the forum...

I've had a quick read through the recommended threads (above) and have noticed that it has been stated that AOL does not run a spider. A little while back I had a 404 link on a web site and whenever an AOL user clicked on it I would get occurences such as:

spider-tq083.proxy.aol.com
spider-mtc-te061.proxy.aol.com
spider-mtc-tf042.proxy.aol.com

This is obviously not a spider in the sense that it is user instigated. Any ideas on what it does?

As a further factor in AOL rankings I have often seen sites newly listed in the ODP coming in very high in AOL search in the first week or so and then dropping off. Does AOL favour new sites?

[Brett_Tabke]

It is the aol proxy cache spider. AOL caches the majority of the net for users.