upgrading account
I have a Neon-level account (lowest level paid account) and I'm considering upgrading to the next level. I would like some input from others who have done this.

First of all, the upgrade would come with a free domain name. Do you have to take the domain name, or is this optional? I've gotten along fine all these years without one; I want the upgrade for the increased space and the more detailed stats, not the domain name. And is it really free? I've seen questions posted in this blog suggesting that you actually have to go buy it from Lycos.

My concern about getting a domain name is that my site has been around for over six years and is linked in a lot of places, and it would be impossible for me to contact all the webmasters where my site is linked to ask them to change the link. Will people clicking on links to the old site name be able to access the site under the domain name?

Finally, I also saw several entries in this blog where people who were trying to upgrade actually got knocked back down to the free service level. Is this a common problem or were those a few rare exceptions?

I appreciate any feedback anyone can give me so I can decide whether or not I want to upgrade. Thanks!