The Bad News From December 1995 through May 1997, I was AOL's "Internet AnswerMan." I maintained the Internet Connection channel's central help forums: AnswerMan and NetHelp. The forums were very popular, and the newsletter, the AnswerMan Internet Extra, was read each week by more than 70,000 readers. Unfortunately, in May the powers that be at AOL abruptly decided to cancel the AnswerMan and NetHelp forums. Despite the fact that the AnswerMan and NetHelp forums had never been more popular, and that the newsletter had more readers than ever, the management felt the cuts were necessary. The AnswerMan and NetHelp forums will disappear from America Online on or after June 1. I understand that some of the information from NetHelp will be folded into a central AOL help area, but the rest of the information and resources (including message boards for questions and answers, personal help via e-mail, AnswerMan Focus, and the newsletter) will be gone. The Good News The most popular part of AnswerMan was certainly the newsletter. Well, the good news is that I still want to do a newsletter, and many AOL members have told me that they still want to read it. So, I am creating a new newsletter -- one with the same sorts of useful weekly information, Internet tips, and how-tos. The new newsletter will be similar to the AnswerMan one, except that it will no longer be associated with an official AOL forum. I would like to keep helping AOL members learn to get the most out of the Internet. Despite the loss of AnswerMan, I can continue to bring you quality information if you support the new newsletter. It will be the same great info, from the same guy who wrote the AnswerMan newsletter every week for more than a year. The AnswerMan Internet Extra was free (because AOL paid me to write it). The new newsletter won't be free but will be cheap: $12 for a year (that's 52 weekly issues delivered to your e-mailbox -- less than a quarter per issue). To subscribe to the new newsletter, send a check or money order for $12 to: Savetz Publishing Internet Extra P.O. Box 1205 Blue Lake CA 95525 USA Please write your screen name on the check (in the memo area) so that I know where to send the newsletter. If you have any questions about the new newsletter or you want to reach me for any reason, please send a message to my personal screen name: NetAnswers@aol.com. See For Yourself Yes, there are many free sources of info on the Internet about the Internet. Why would you shell out twelve smackers for the Internet Extra? The Internet Extra is the only newsletter aimed at AOL members who want to make the Internet useful in their lives (and have some fun with it too.) Want samples? Here are some articles that have been published in the Internet Extra: •PDF: Pretty Darn Funky? -- Adobe Acrobat files •The Art of Being Invisible -- Gracefully hiding from spammers •The Joy of Sitting Slack-Jawed -- fun with media sites •IM Madness with Instant Messenger Also, feel free to check out the old AnswerMan newsletter to get the flavor of the new Internet Extra. If you're accessing the Web with AOL's browser, you can get all of the back issues of the old newsletter by clicking here. Here's what AOL members have to say about the newsletter... •Kevin, you have saved me many times from some (many) amateur mistakes when I first signed onto the Internet through AOL. And, thanks to you, I have set up my own web page & learned HTML as well. -Diana •You've helped create order from disorder in my universe. -MimiTesler •I am not the "EXPERT" everyone claims to be with computers, but I do have lots of questions and have always been assured of getting precise, plain-language, and usable CORRECT answers to questions I may have had. And more often than not, AnswerMan has addressed issues that I wanted to know about before I had a chance to ask. -K. Clagett •I subscribe to several newsletters, but yours, without question, is by far the best, informative and useful to AOL members. -Ohbabyooh •What is a girl to do without you? You're my guru, my leader in the vast AOL World, and a concise, down-to-earth writer. -norine16 •I think your newsletter is great, useful topics, really clear and noncondescending. You really are one of the most helpful (and nicest) net-people I've come across. -Podgin Wol •Really looked forward to YOUR newsletter each week, full of information for newbies like me as well as intermediate and advanced computer users. -Shirley Cleaves •Thanks for the many good bits of info you gave out in AnswerMan. I enjoyed your column. I liked the way you wrote it and I appreciated your attitude toward people like me who need all the info and help they can get. -Julie Gierula •Thank you for all the help you've been providing. You've taught me so much, encouraged me to actually try surfing the net, pointed us in wonderful directions, and given so many tools and information to keep us all sane. -Peggy •You have helped me, a computer literate guy, to be a more avid user of the Internet. I now use RealAudio and other applications on a regular basis and have far greater understanding of the vast resorceses availible. -Tissot1 MORE NEWS Here's a list of other AOL resources that you can use to get information about the Internet in the absence of the AnswerMan and NetHelp forums. At keyword NETGUIDE, you'll find info from NetGuide magazine, including message boards, online articles and product reviews. At keyword INBUSINESS, you'll find information specific to doing business and making money on the Net. At keyword SURF SHACK, you'll find a list of AOL members' web sites, Q&A message boards, and live chat about the Web. If you want to create a Web page but don't want to learn HTML, go to keyword PP2. That's Personal Publisher, where you can create a nice little web page in just a few minutes -- no HTML required. Keyword WEB DINER is devoted to helping you learn to create a fantastic Web site. There are message boards for talking about Personal Publisher, HTML and creating web graphics; member web Site picks; and downloadable HTML editors. Part of the Web Diner, keyword WEB TUTORIAL offers online tutorials, such as "Easy-as-Pie Graphics" and "Troubleshooting HTML." And at keyword WEBU, you'll discover Web University, which offers free Web-related courses online. Courses include "Getting Started on the Web" and "Java Basics." At keyword TELNET, you can find out how to Telnet from your AOL account. And at keyword WINSOCK you'll learn how you can use other Net tools like Internet Relay Chat. Keyword MAIL is your source for information about all aspects of electronic mail. Simple stuff and advanced features are both covered here. Finally, at keyword INSIDER you can get daily updates about what's news at AOL -- and you can sign up to receive free AOL tips via e-mail. Here are direct links for AOL 3.0 users: keyword NETGUIDE keyword INBUSINESS keyword SURF SHACK keyword PP2 keyword WEB DINER keyword WEB TUTORIAL keyword WEBU keyword TELNET keyword WINSOCK keyword MAIL keyword INSIDER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NetAnswers@aol.com