Pretend for a moment that you're a technology geek. You're a die-hard Linux user, and you've been using one Linux distribution for a long time. You like this distribution a lot, and you even buy a copy of every new release even though you can download it for free (say that you've also downloaded it as well). Using this version of Linux feels like home, and is something you make a career out of. Oh yeah, also imagine that you own stock in this Linux company, and have since it was first publicly traded. You literally have a vested interest in the survival of . Just suppose that all this is true for a minute or two.

Now say that you've been "online" in one form or another for like 10 years. You like being online, and you've made good money by doing things online. You've made filthy, dirty, obscene cash because you can do things online. In short: you're into being online, and something of an "online" expert. What would be the antithesis of everything online which is good and wholesome? Yeah, sure, AOL. Of course. Ever since they had their own private network opened to the world, with their buggy newsreader triple posting every "me too" three times to five newsgroups at once, AOLers have been the Fingerhut of the online world. (Although I admit it's great fun to wander among them occasionally, to see their painful existence.) AOL is the online equivalent of the guy who takes his girl to the Big Date at the fanciest of Sizzlers and lets her get the all-you-can-eat salad bar since it's such a special occasion. The Great Unwashed is what I'm trying to say. Plebeian and wired. The people who order stuffed bears and crocheted/needlepoint hearts and painted wood plaques with pithy sayings and wall hangings made of baby blue plaid. Hummels and Beanie Baby collectors. A Trans Am is a sports car. They are as un-technically inclined as the average Linux user is, all other things aside.

Now imagine that these people are going to own "your" Linux company. That's right... the Clampetts are not only your neighbors, they own the whole city.

I think I'm going to be sick.