Here we go again. Rumors that Time Warner will unload its troubled AOL unit reignited Sunday when AOL honcho Jonathan Miller intimated that a split from Time Warner is up for consideration: "It's possible, going forward. It's not a discussion that Time Warner has a problem with understanding or engaging in," he told The Sunday Telegraph. Miller was in London, wrapping up the $2 billion sale of AOL's European Internet access businesses - in keeping with AOL's head-first dive into the business of free, ad-supported content.

An AOL spokesman immediately threw water on the "de-merger" flames, telling Bloomberg that Time Warner has no immediate plans to sell AOL. Still, the rumor was off and running, and Slashdotters had a field day contemplating the prospect of the split and an indie AOL. Perhaps the best snipe spoofed AOL's notorious hard-sell tactics on those who would cancel their service:

AOL: Hi this is AOL, how can we help you?
TimeW: Well, I'd like to cancel my service
AOL: sorry to hear that, can we offer you our high speed internet services?

And on it went. The grief must be particularly bitter for those very same tele-sales operators, 1,300 of whom were sacked last week as AOL closed down call centers in Arizona and New Mexico. Ouch. Transition is tough.