Expeeiencing problems using OE as email client as follows:

My ISP is AOL and I have set up OE as my email client. The fact that I have a few email accounts within AOL is the reason why I have decided to use OE as the email client.
Perhaps my setup is not correct because upon completion of setup and trying to originate email from OE, it appears to go but I get disconnected from my ISP shortly afterwards with the following message

''An unknown error has occured''
Configuration :
Account IMAP.AOL.COM
Server: IMAP.AOL.COM
User Name: Kcnmadhouse (which incidently is the current default)
Protocol IMAP

To the best of my knowledge the procedure for setting up the account is correct.
Can anyone explain what could be the cause for my being disconnected and how could it possibly correctly? Any advice highly appreciated

Xonk