>Holly writes: Seems like AOL stole the idea from ICQ (if that's any consolation to you Vicki) :) Hi Holly (-: Not familiar with ICQ, just looked into an IRC (Ircle) and discovered it was $15 for shareware upfront and that possibly included paying for another server (AOL is seamless....yes.....)! When I downloaded the IRC instructions and read about the skill needed to find a good server and how they could be laggy or disappear entirely in a few weeks....I got scared!! (-: AOL is offering 50 free hours upfront. In the final analysis the consolation will probably end up in AOL's pocket--regardless of who thought of it first!! (-: and don't think I'm selling anything here......(-: Vicki