To be fair, initially it was a portal to itself. As in AOL did not original provide internet access, heck it was pre-www days. When they added it making it part

To be fair, initially it was a portal to itself. As in AOL did not original provide internet access, heck it was pre-www days. When they added it making it part of the existing portal interface was logical for various reasons including reducing customer service. But yeah, they also wanted people to use their content over internet sources.