>Hi from down under >I am using CompuServe because not only professionals but amateurs around the >world can have access. >It is not so expensive, if you learn to run properly. And it friendly and very >easy to operate. If you try to have your private access into INTERNET, you have >to pay too. >regards > Hello Vratislav, I don't know what internet connections are like down under, but here in the US we have a whole bunch of different "online services" in addition to regular internet links. I live in a fair - sized city: Tucson, Arizona. We have a number of "botique" online services: America Online, Compuserve, Delphi, Prodigy, e-world and others I cannot think of at the moment. Each of these services offer special little goodies to entice you to subscribe, and charge a monthly base fee. America Online which is the other service I suscribe to (for access to service bulletin boards from various software and hardware companies), charges $10 (US) a month plus $3 per hour - this is in comparison to the $24.50 per month for 150 hours of PPP connection that I receive from internet direct, a small, conventional internet access company. My PPP connection gives me full access to the internet, while these other services offer only partial access and can be much more expensive if I am online more than 5 hrs. a month. And I am ! What I am afraid of is that each of these "botique" services will carry different discussion groups that I would like to participate in and I would need to spend $50 a month or more just for basic fees to these "botique" services. I think the "botiques" are fine for social services and games and hobbies and pen pals,etc.; but I feel that there is a distinct advantage for those of us in the museum profession and other associated fields, whether we are FP or NFP, to communicate in a more publicly accessible forum. Vrat, I'm going to post this on museum-l, because I think others might be interested and want to comment. All the best, Robert Robert O. Dahl Interpretive Designer 8421 N. Via Tioga Tucson, AZ 85704 Ph:(602) 797-4752 internetaddress:[log in to unmask] AOL: [log in to unmask]