it makes you wonder if paying 23 something a month is really worth it
NO it isn't... Broadband is so common these days that dialup prices are going way down. It's a common thing for an ISP to charge 10 bucks a month now. Like NetZero, which is what we have.

Plus, I've heard that AOL prevents users from using telnet.. among other things.. So you're paying MORE for LESS functionality.