From: Stephen Wolstenholme on
On Wed, 5 May 2010 13:43:33 -0400, "Pete Delgado"
<Peter.Delgado(a)NoSpam.com> wrote:

>
>"Hector Santos" <sant9442(a)nospam.gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:%23TPdaFA7KHA.3880(a)TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> Looks, like you need to review your dupe checker!!
>>
>> Pathetic. As an early pioneer of online communications software, of all
>> types, including the augmentation of RFC x822 based systems, this is a bad
>> decision by Microsoft. I can understand elimination of many NNTP
>> newsgroups, but all of them? Terrible!
>
>Perhaps we should have all seen this coming when Microsoft removed Outlook
>Express from Windows 7 rather than enhance the product. I'm not sure how I
>feel about the online forums, but my gut tells me that this is a mistake as
>there are many things that are easily done using nntp newsreaders that
>become difficult with html-based forum software.
>
>For example, how would one filter out messages by a specific poster?
>
>-Pete
>

MPNews provides NNTP, Web Forum and email lists from a common message
set. That's the way Microsoft should have gone rather than just
shutting the door on NNTP and expect everyone to move to forums. The
bridge they have supplied is primitive.

Steve

--
Neural Planner Software Ltd www.NPSL1.com
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. www.justnn.com
From: Liviu on
<nntp(a)microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:OZPSup$6KHA.2240(a)TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Date 5/4/2010
> Starting in early summer 2010, Microsoft will begin progressively
> closing down the Microsoft public newsgroups to enrich conversations
> in the rapidly-growing forum platform. This decision is in response
> to worldwide market trends and evolving customer needs.
>
> Microsoft continues to invest in forums to reduce customer effort,
> consolidate community venues and make it easier for active
> contributors to retain their influence. Forums provide a healthy
> community environment with less spam and make answers easier to find
> by customers and search engines. Additionally, forums offer a better
> user and off-topic management platform that will improve customer
> satisfaction by facilitating discussions in a clean space.
>
> We understand that some newsgroups are still active, and important to
> the community. In the coming days and weeks, we will be rolling out
> tools and resources to minimize disruption to the community
> discussions.
>
> We are working diligently on providing additional resources and
> information in local languages later this week. In the meantime,
> please refer to the official Microsoft Newsgroup website
> http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/default.mspx
> concerning this issue. The Microsoft Newsgroup website will be made
> available in additional languages in the next few days.

Dear nntp(a)microsoft.com,

To begin with the nitpicks, but your put-down message ignores
basic usenet usage and etiquette:
- there is no need to date the post, since it's timestamped already;
- text should be duly wrapped;
- it's better advised to crosspost, not multipost.

I can agree that msnews.microsoft.com hasn't always been the best
of servers. Which may explain why you had to futilely repost the
same message so many times yesterday. At last count, I found 3 of
them on microsoft.public.win32.programmer.kernel, and 2 here on
microsoft.public.vc.mfc alone.

That said, it's a pity and it's a shame. The MS newsgroups have been
a great resource for a long time. Whichever of your "focus groups"
decided that web-based forums would do a better job, or even par,
good luck with that slower, clunkier, closed alternative.

Liviu

P.S. There was really no need for cliches like "in response to worldwide
market trends and evolving customer needs". Nobody asked me ;-)



From: Oliver Regenfelder on
Hello,

nntp(a)microsoft.com wrote:
> Microsoft will begin progressively closing down the Microsoft public newsgroups
> to enrich conversations in the rapidly-growing forum platform.

Is it just me or does this sound a bit like:
"We need the people from the newsgroups to have a flowing and good
discussion?"

It should give them to think, that seemingly the forum platform doesn't
manage to enrich itself.

Best regards,

Oliver
From: Joseph M. Newcomer on
I fail to see how a profoundly crappy interface like the forums could be construed to
"enrich" anything. Unless you are living in a grade-7 Reality Distortion Field.

Remember, the guys who build these things test them on their local machines, so bandwidth
is not an issue. For those of us who have to deal with remote servers, the delays are
intolerable.
joe

On Fri, 07 May 2010 11:57:08 +0200, Oliver Regenfelder <oliver.regenfelder(a)gmx.at> wrote:

>Hello,
>
>nntp(a)microsoft.com wrote:
>> Microsoft will begin progressively closing down the Microsoft public newsgroups
> > to enrich conversations in the rapidly-growing forum platform.
>
>Is it just me or does this sound a bit like:
>"We need the people from the newsgroups to have a flowing and good
>discussion?"
>
>It should give them to think, that seemingly the forum platform doesn't
>manage to enrich itself.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Oliver
Joseph M. Newcomer [MVP]
email: newcomer(a)flounder.com
Web: http://www.flounder.com
MVP Tips: http://www.flounder.com/mvp_tips.htm