There are few things we actually need to survive: oxygen, water, food, and a high-speed Internet connection.

After moving into the new house, I proceeded to order DSL from Earthlink. After I found out that they require you to install third-party software to connect to their DSL service (and then disconnect when you are done), I cancelled the order. That's lame, DSL should just always be there for you.

Skip to the end of the techno-babble

When I placed my new order through PacBell I found out that Earthlink had only cancelled my account, but didn't request the cancellation of the DSL circuit. I can't order DSL anywhere else until that circuit is removed. Thus begins my hell.

For two weeks, I've called Earthlink every day asking them to remove it. Everyday they tell me they have placed a request with PacBell to get it removed. Everyday, it doesn't get done. I was finally able to convince PacBell to remove the circuit without waiting for Earthlink to actually request the cancellation. A week later, it still hasn't been done, which is when I find out that PacBell doesn't even control the DSL circuit!

Now, I found out that Covad is actually the person that Earthlink needs to send these requests to. So, I begin my mission once again, and finally am able to get ahold of someone at Covad that will help me. She called Earthlink and got someone to submit the cancellation order while she was on the phone, and then waited until it showed up in their database. She says Covad will remove the circuit in 48 hours. Let's hope so.

The Short Version

The morale of the story is, Earthlink is evil. They have become a huge corporation who has swallowed several other ISPs. They used to know what they were doing, but they are wholly unable to manage Mindspring, Sprintlink, and all of the other companies they've purchased. If you are just ordering dial-up service from them, you should be fine, but if you want any sort of other services from them, abandon all hope.