As you can see above, Ficlets is soon to go the way of all the Earth. I for one am not pleased.

However, this is a capitalist society with a free market economy, so AOL is free to do whatever they will and likely to do whatever is profitable. For this we cannot really fault them.

We can offer alternatives. There is a proposal on the table at AOL to donate the entity to a pro-literacy, non-profit organization. There is also the possibility to try morphing the site into a set up similar to Flickr.com with free features and additional membership features to entice people to sign on for a small fee.

I urge you all to find an appropriate contact email address and make your voice heard. Let them know what the site means to you. Ask them (nicely) to reconsider abandoning the site wholesale. And if you find a good contact email, please do share it with the rest of us.

[Disclaimer: Conflict of interest, in the spirit of full disclosure, I am nominally on the board of directors for said non-profit org.]