The complete text of the letter that Jake wrote to FlashNet:

TO: Your Friends at Flashnet; investor.relations@flash.net
Subject: You're being bought out?!
    

You guys are merging with SBC and Prodigy? Now hang on a second.
Prodigy is the former Sears Roebuck wimpy attempt at being a provider,
known for their mass stupidity.
    SBC? Well I used to work for that company, and in my opinion, they are
one of the most evil and corrupt companies around. Are you aware that
according to articles published in the Dallas Morning News, SBC wrote
the last telecommunications bill verbatim? Initially there was some furor
over a company that was to be regulated by the bill actually WRITING the
bill, but about 4 days later it was decided that it was for the best. Now
tell me that doesn't sound fishy.
    In addition, while SBC is cutting off people's phones for owing 23 dollars,
the top level of executives are getting their personal jumbo SUVs hand-washed
and detailed every single day in the company garage across from One-Bell.

I've always been kind of proud to have been a member of FlashNet since 1994,
as it was an independent provider, not a brainless MeToo Factory like AOL
or Southwestern Bell Internet, or for god's sake, PRODIGY! Come on! Prodigy
is the lowest of the low! Didn't they used to have a seperate little video box
you plugged into the phone like VideoTel?

And according to your website "As the ISP industry has come under heavy
consolidation pressure...". What, you've got big guys named "Vito" pounding
on your door making threats? You can't continue to operate the business as
you have? You are being forced by someone to sell out your customers?
At least you're honest when you say "FlashNet believes this merger is in the
best interest of their shareholders.". I'm glad that you agree and acknowlege
that it's certainly NOT in the best interest of your customers. Come on, SBC
can't even get us, here in Valley Ranch, decent connect speeds to
FlashNet. Best that we can hope for is 33.6 through paper-clad copper
wire. That's it. DSL? Hey, sounds great! Oh, but we're 150 feet too far from the
Central Office to get it. So now you want to hand the servers and your customers
over to these incapable baboons?

Look, I've gotten used to you not having any email support personnel besides
Preston Ordrop, who insults me and refuses to answer any questions. I've
put up with usually lousy connect speeds, because dang it, I was on
an ISP, not some huge corporate MeTooSP. I started with you guys WAAAY
back at the beginning, I mean, look at my user name. "jake". Are there ANY 4
letter names NOT in use?

    I'm imagining it's probably pretty useless to complain, I'm sure the huge
faceless, souless corporations are offering you HUGE amounts of cash
to sell out all of your customers, but I just had to say something about
being screwed so badly after all these years.

Jake