Details of server end

[Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com>]

Here come the dunce-like questions:

For someone ignorant of how IMAP works, the well written faq leaves out
very basic info like the details of how one gets an IMAP server.  Is
IMAP normally available thru dialup ISPs?  Is it something a user runs
locally if desired, on there own machine?  Something like slrnpull or
others for News?

My mail server is a pop.newsguy.com machine.  Do I have to have an IMAP
server on that machine to use IMAP or do people transfer POP server
output to a different server with a .forward file or similar?