[lug] helping friends escape AOL

[Neal McBurnett]

We all probably know people that use AOL and aren't happy.
Why there are probably some among the LUG....

I'm looking for two things.  First, some up-to-date advice on good
options for these folks, many of whom are still very novice users
and who have a skewed idea of what the Internet is all about since
AOL is all they've ever seen.

Best of all would be pointers to ISPs that actively promote
non-Microsoft software (Netscape, Eudora, Linux, etc.) and who know
the best ways to extricate saved mail/bookmarks/whatever from AOL
accounts and import them into other supported software.  By the way,
is any of that information stored on AOL servers, or is it on people
PCs?  After cancelling an AOL account, is it at all a problem to
continue using the AOL program to access local data?

Other pointers to up-to-date sites that explain all this would
also be handy.  I've looked at several, but most seemed like they
were still whining about policy changes from years ago that seem
less relevant now.

Also of interest would be intelligent sites that explain what some of
the issues with AOL are (specifics on bad support for email and
attachment standards, monolopistic practices, merger concerns, etc.)

Thanks,

Neal McBurnett <neal at bcn.boulder.co.us>  303-538-4852
http://bcn.boulder.co.us/~neal/      (with PGP key)