I originally wrote this for a user on my GERMANNA_COLONIES List, in response to a post concerning problems at AOL. After sending it, I realized that it might be of value to many AOL email users. Please read all the post, whether you are an AOL user or not. If you use other services, you can still set up your email browser to automatically logon and down- load your email at specified intervals. SgtGeorge List Maintainer **********(Start of Post on How to Use AOL's Flash Sessions)********** Pat, may I make a suggestion to you and ALL OTHER AOL users on these Lists. The AOL Windows interface has a utility that you can use to download your messages and then log off AOL. I haven't used it in a while, but it used to be called a Flash Session. Instead of logging on the usual way, you click on Flash Session, tell it what to do, then hit "OK". It logs onto AOL, gets your messages, copies them to your harddrive so you can read them and answer at your leisure. You do this while still in the AOL interface program for Windows, but you are not logged on. This frees up AOL connections for others to use. If EVERY AOL user did this, it would cut down on the load on AOL by several magnitudes. Get your mail, log off, read it off-line, just like you would do if you had a "real" internet server (ISP) and a "real" email program, such as Eudora, Agent, etc., then log on again, using Flash Session, to send your replies and download any new email. Do you realize that you can compose your original email off-line and then send it during a Flash Session? Think of the resources freed up at AOL if you do all your email off line !!!!! 99.99% of the servers now give unlimited time for a basic fee and users take them at their word, staying on line for hours, when they could make do with just a few minutes for each mail download session. Again, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE ON-LINE to read your mail and prepare replies. I'm addressing this issue since AOL doesn't seem to be able to keep up with the demands make by it's 10 million+ users, or is it 14 million now? Oops, almost forgot. By using Flash Sessions, you can leave the AOL Windows interface running and program the Flash Session utility to go online at preset times and download your email. This can be scheduled so that your mail will be downloaded while you are at work, or while you are asleep. Think about it !!!!! No more "full mailbox" bounces back to RootsWeb or other List servers. You can use this utility to download your email while you are away on short vacations. Most users who sub- scribe to several Lists find they have full mailboxes if they have been away for 2 or 3 days. Once the mailbox is full, all subsequent mail is "bounced" (returned) by AOL and you lose potentially valuable email So, why not use all the resources available to help yourself AND to help others (meaning Listowners and List Servers)? My computer runs 24 hours a day and has done so for the past 6 years. My Eudora email program logs on to my server, Concentric Net, every 2 hours and downloads my waiting messages. I have no limit on the number of messages at Concentric Net, but just believe there is no reason to load up their harddrive with unread messages. Regards, SgtGeorge List Maintainer ==== DURMAN Mailing List ==== To unsubscribe from DURMAN, send an e-mail message to: DURMAN-L-request@rootsweb.com (for individual messages) DURMAN-D-request@rootsweb.com (for Digest mode) Subject: unsubscribe In the body include only one word: unsubscribe (Turn OFF your signature file when sending this command)