Dial-up Time out

[Doug Bronson]

Hello all.
I'm new to this group but not so new to Linux.
I have a problem with my dial up connection that I'm sure is Earthlinks
(my isp) problem, but I can't seem to get them to understand.

A bit of history:
I have a Linux box acting as a proxy server using Caldera's "eDesktop
2.4" running squid 2.2.. The dial up is controlled using pppd, firewall
is ipchains.
Pppd is set up to dial out on request and to shut down after 30 to 300
sec's of inactivity.

Everything was working fine until Earthlink decided to shut down the
phone number that I've used for years.
That's when all of the problems started. After reconfiguring pppd to
dial the new number, the proxy connects fine but will not AUTO
DISCONNECT. I've adjusted the time out from 30 sec's to 300 sec's. The
link stays active.
I then added in another dial up number from Earthlink's web site. This
number works properly but my connection is slow and unstable. But it
would AUTO DISCONNECT. Same results from two other numbers that
Earthlink provided.

Earthlink says that the problem number is no different than the others
and don't see how the problem could be theirs. They also said that
beings that they don't support Linux, that I should switch to a more
popular OS.
They also said that they could do no more for me.

I've reviewed squid's log files and could not find anything unusual that
would indicate why the connection was staying open.

Has anybody had any similar problem's?
Any ideals on what is going on?
How do I convince Earthlink that they are the problem and not my box?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Doug Bronson