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View Full Version : About Closing CompuServe Account


Guerri Stevens
July 2nd, 2005, 08:29 PM
I am planning to close my CompuServe account soon. But I have a CompuServe screen name for use with CompuServe P-CIS forums. When I close my account, does the screen name go away?

Gary Maltzen
July 2nd, 2005, 09:59 PM
screen names from the CS2000, AOL, Netscape and IM pool do not go away unless you fail to use them in some capacity for an extended period.

A Compuserve Classic address (personal or otherwise) will cease to be usable for anything.

MollyM/CA
July 4th, 2005, 10:58 AM
But will signing in with an old Compuserve/AOL name revive the CS account? I keep hearing these horror stories.

Judy G. Russell
July 4th, 2005, 11:57 AM
Signing in with your CS userid will (or may, depending on how long it's been) revive that account. But there is a difference between a CS userid and an AOL screenname: they're not linked. So if you have one address of MollyM@compuserve.com (linked to your userid) and a screenname of MollyM in the AOL system (AOL, AIM, Netscape, etc.), they are not the same.

Guerri Stevens
July 4th, 2005, 09:04 PM
What about a screen name obtained from within CompuServe? Is that considered an AOL screen name?

Judy G. Russell
July 5th, 2005, 12:08 AM
Depends. If you mean the personal ID that's associated with your Compuserve userid for email purposes, no. If you mean a screenname you got with, say, Compuserve Instant Messenger, yes.

MollyM/CA
July 6th, 2005, 09:52 AM
(tearing hair in confusion)

I might have been safe, but I didn't feel safe until I'd wiped all the cookies and gotten a new screen name as per the invitation on the first screen, with none of the words from any of the old ones in it.

davidh
July 6th, 2005, 11:17 AM
What about a screen name obtained from within CompuServe? Is that considered an AOL screen name?
Try login at http://my.screenname.aol.com

If you can log in ok there then the ID will not re-activate your CIS account.

BTW, I kept the original CSIM compuserve instant messenger program that came on the CS2000 / CS3 / CS4 CD that CIS sent out to members years ago. I hope it's not any more insecure than the new AIM. At least it's much smaller and less intrusive.

David H.

Judy G. Russell
July 6th, 2005, 12:25 PM
With a new screenname, you're fine.

Guerri Stevens
July 7th, 2005, 06:06 AM
I'm not talking about my personal ID for CompuServe Email. I'm talking about the screen name I got with CompuServe, but I don't know if it was "CompuServe Instant Messenger". I don't do instant messaging, but it might all be part of the same functional area.

I somehow went to a place within CompuServe.com where I saw "New User - get your free screen name...". I clicked on the Sign Up button and got a name. I am not sure this is exactly what I did; I am looking at a print that I did at the time, but I don't really remember how it worked. My assumption was that anyone, whether or not a CompuServe member, could do this.

I guess the safest thing would be to get a new screen name once I close my CompuServe account.

Judy G. Russell
July 7th, 2005, 09:22 AM
I guess the safest thing would be to get a new screen name once I close my CompuServe account.
Yes. And the easiest way to do this and get an additional benefit of a free webmail account is to go to Netscape.com and get a free webmail address. The screenname you use with that webmail address (whatever@netscape.net) will work everywhere in the AOL name space, which includes the PCIS forums.

Guerri Stevens
July 7th, 2005, 08:13 PM
Now if I were reading your message with TAPCIS (sob), I would be able to press H to hold it so it would stay in the view, and someday in the future I could quickly get back to it.

I wonder if there's a way to mark it for myself? I assume a search would turn it up, too.

Judy G. Russell
July 7th, 2005, 08:15 PM
Suggestion: create a bookmark folder called "Come back to this" and then bookmark any message that you need.

Or, yes, you can do a search.

Mike
July 8th, 2005, 02:31 AM
At the top of the set of messages, you can use the "Thread Tools" flyout to get to the "Email this Page" option. (See the screenshot below.) You can send the page to your email account, and then manage it in T-bird.

Lindsey
July 8th, 2005, 11:45 AM
At the top of the set of messages, you can use the "Thread Tools" flyout to get to the "Email this Page" option.
Aha! I knew there must be an option for that somewhere, but I couldn't find it. Geez, right in front of my face...

--Lindsey

Guerri Stevens
July 10th, 2005, 08:50 AM
Thanks for the tip on thread tools. I'll give it a try, but I suspect it will Email the entire thread, not just the single message. But it's worth playing with it for future reference anyway.

Guerri Stevens
July 10th, 2005, 08:59 AM
I tried this and it sent a link to the thread, which might be fine assuming messages here last forever.

What's interesting is that I told it to send the Email to my tapcis.com Email account, at least I think that's what I did, but it went to my CompuServe account. I tried it again, this time putting "me" as the recipient's name, and it went to my tapcis.com account. I'll make another try using my full name and see what it does.

Lindsey
July 10th, 2005, 12:19 PM
I tried this and it sent a link to the thread, which might be fine assuming messages here last forever.
Try choosing the "Show printable version" option and then either File|Send page... in Mozilla, or using copy and past to copy the text only of the message(s) you are interested in to an editor or an e-mail message.

--Lindsey

Guerri Stevens
July 10th, 2005, 07:07 PM
Using the show printable and Emailing it worked, but it sent the whole thread. Copying just the message I wanted would be better, or viewing just the single message would probably work too.

Lindsey
July 10th, 2005, 09:15 PM
Copying just the message I wanted would be better, or viewing just the single message would probably work too.
So copy just the message off of that page that you want, paste it into an e-mail, and mail it to yourself.

--Lindsey