Correction A thousand thanks to everyone who wrote in saying that it wasn't Freeserve that was getting upset with people using its service too much - it was RedHotAnt.

A thousand lashes to the 'helpful' PR snout who passed on the duff information.

The story should read:

RedHotAnt has dropped to its knees and is begging its users not to stay online for too long.

In its Internet Support Newsletter, issue 19, published earlier this month, you can almost feel the angst of RedHotant tech support as they plead with users to give others a chance.

"We ARE AWARE there are some users out there experiencing the 'line is busy' or 'engaged' tone when dialling-up to our service mainly at peak periods, i.e. evenings and weekends," says newsletter editor Keith Butler.

"We are also aware that a minority of users are using the system in excess of twelve hours a day! C'mon. I would like to take this opportunity to ask those particular users to be fair and give your fellow users a chance to get online." ®