Reminder - Microsoft Responds to the Evolution of Community
in [Beginners]
|
From: Graham Mayor on 21 May 2010 01:46 It works OK with Outlook Express on a fairly modest PC running Windows XP (little different in speed from Microsoft's NNTP server), however the announcement is rather disingenuous. While Microsoft may turn off their NNTP server (or just the forum link to it) the newsgroups should retain a life of their own in the wider world of Usenet. Microsoft removed the Public.Word.General group from its server at least eight years ago, but it still has some traffic. You can continue to access Usenet via a whole raft of third party text Usenet servers - some of them free! -- <>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<> Graham Mayor - Word MVP My web site www.gmayor.com Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org <>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<> "LVTravel" <none(a)nothere.com> wrote in message news:eLn7AnD%23KHA.5592(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > > > "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill(a)mvps.org> wrote in message > news:e9zsiZD#KHA.3840(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >> But don't download the bridge yet unless there's assurance that this is >> the >> one that will work with the Answers forums. The current bridge is going >> to >> work only for MSDN, TechNet, and Expression forums. The Answers forums >> are >> going to be moved to a different "platform infrastructure" and will >> require >> a different bridge, which is supposed to become available tomorrow. >> >> -- >> Suzanne S. Barnhill >> Microsoft MVP (Word) >> Words into Type >> Fairhope, Alabama USA >> http://word.mvps.org >> >> <nntp(a)microsoft.com> wrote in message >> news:O7o5%237C%23KHA.2304(a)TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... >>> >>> Microsoft Office Evolves Community as Part of Office 2010 Launch: >>> As you know, this is a big year for Microsoft as we are launching the >>> latest version of Office. Office 2010 is all about making it easy for >>> you to get and use Office on your terms. Office 2010 lets you work from >>> the office, from home, or at school across the PC, the Phone, and the >>> Browser. You can purchase Office 2010 from retail, from our OEM >>> manufactures when you purchase a new PC, or get it direct from >>> Microsoft, faster than ever via a new software delivery mechanism called >>> Click-To-Run. >>> >>> And, we're working hard to provide you the customer support you want, >>> when you want it. We are offering 1-year of technical support included >>> in our Office Professional 2010 SKU. We are expanding and improving our >>> community to provide free, 24/7 support. The details of this evolution >>> are outlined below, but suffice it to say, we're really excited about >>> this as it aligns with our Office 2010 vision of Office on your terms >>> >>> What is Happening? >>> This message is to inform you that Microsoft will soon begin >>> discontinuing >>> newsgroups and transitioning users to Microsoft forums. >>> >>> Why? >>> As you may know, newsgroups have existed for many years now; however, >>> the >>> traffic in the Microsoft newsgroups has been steadily decreasing for the >>> past several years while customers and participants are increasingly >>> finding >>> solutions in the forums on Microsoft properties and third party sites. >>> This >>> move will unify the customer experience, centralize content, make it >>> easier >>> for active contributors to retain their influence, mitigate redundancies >>> and >>> make the content easier to find by customers and search engines through >>> improved indexing. Additionally, forums offer a better user and spam >>> management platform that will improve customer satisfaction by >>> encouraging a >>> healthy discussion in a clean community space. To this end, Microsoft >>> will >>> begin to progressively shift available resources to the forums >>> technology >>> and discontinue support for newsgroups. >>> >>> In addition to offering a compelling online browser experience, for >>> those >>> users who prefer to use an NNTP (newsgroup) reader to participate in the >>> newsgroups community, we have developed a solution called the NNTP >>> Bridge >>> which allows a user to connect a variety of supported NNTP readers to >>> the >>> forums they would like to participate in and continue having the NTTP >>> reader >>> functionality. You can find instructions on how to download and set up >>> the >>> NNTP Bridge here: http://connect.microsoft.com/MicrosoftForums/ >>> >>> >>> When will this Happen? >>> Effective June 1, 2010 this newsgroup will be closed. >>> >>> Where Should I go with the Closure of this Newsgroup? >>> Microsoft has a large selection of forums, many of which cover either >>> the >>> same or closely related technologies to the ones found in the >>> newsgroups. >>> The forums have seen amazing growth and are an excellent place to >>> continue >>> the discussion. We recommend that you start with: >>> http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/officeword >>> >>> Should you want to visit the other Microsoft Forums, please go to >>> http://www.microsoft.com/communities/forums/default.mspx >>> >>> Who Should I Contact with any Questions? >>> Send any questions about the process, recommended forums and timing to >>> NNTP(a)microsoft.com >> > > I am currently using the bridge that is available and believe me, while it > is better than nothing it does not work well even on a fast machine. This > is really a slow system to pull the damn forums in and use them. At least > it does put all the "threads" in one location instead of the nasty web > forums where you can't see all the subjects easily along with responses.
From: abrielle on 23 May 2010 13:44 I have only just come in on this topic and would like to know how I get this group if microsoft.public.word.newusers is to be closed down. I get the messages from all the Microsoft groups in Windows Live Mail | Microsoft Communities and don't know where else to download the messages. Can anyone help please - I don't understand about bridges or ports, etc. "Doug Robbins - Word MVP" <dkr(a)REMOVECAPSmvps.org> wrote in message news:#S6eTlJ#KHA.148(a)TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... > But, as I said, the speed is not an issue here. > > -- > Hope this helps. > > Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my > services on a paid consulting basis. > > Doug Robbins - Word MVP, originally posted via msnews.microsoft.com > > "LVTravel" <none(a)nothere.com> wrote in message > news:OiI5ZWJ#KHA.208(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >> >> >> "Doug Robbins - Word MVP" <dkr(a)REMOVECAPSmvps.org> wrote in message >> news:51E1CA30-305C-44B2-9116-FF078D0B7C18(a)microsoft.com... >>> It is no more than a blink of the eyelid here to change from one forum >>> to another (even with between ones that have hundreds of unread posts). >>> >>> Apparently, you will need a new bridge after to-morrow to be able to >>> access the Answers forums. Whether the new bridge can be used >>> simultaneously with the existing one (for access to the MSDN/Technet >>> Forums) is not yet known. >>> >>> -- >> As I said, I am using the bridge now and it does access Answers.en.... >> without any issue other than speed. >
From: Stefan Blom on 23 May 2010 14:50 First you will have to register a Live ID at the Answers forum: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/officeword. Click the "Sign in" link and if you don't already have a Live ID, first register. You can then use the web interface to ask questions in the appropriate forum, or you can download and install the Microsoft Answers Bridge from http://connect.microsoft.com/MicrosoftForums/ which allows you to continue using your newsreader. -- Stefan Blom Microsoft Word MVP (Message posted via NNTP) "abrielle" <abrielle(a)newsgroup.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:6486535C-7812-4699-B1BD-2D73446319E9(a)microsoft.com... >I have only just come in on this topic and would like to know how I get this >group if microsoft.public.word.newusers is to be closed down. > > I get the messages from all the Microsoft groups in Windows Live Mail | > Microsoft Communities and don't know where else to download the messages. > > Can anyone help please - I don't understand about bridges or ports, etc. > > "Doug Robbins - Word MVP" <dkr(a)REMOVECAPSmvps.org> wrote in message > news:#S6eTlJ#KHA.148(a)TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... >> But, as I said, the speed is not an issue here. >> >> -- >> Hope this helps. >> >> Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my >> services on a paid consulting basis. >> >> Doug Robbins - Word MVP, originally posted via msnews.microsoft.com >> >> "LVTravel" <none(a)nothere.com> wrote in message >> news:OiI5ZWJ#KHA.208(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >>> >>> >>> "Doug Robbins - Word MVP" <dkr(a)REMOVECAPSmvps.org> wrote in message >>> news:51E1CA30-305C-44B2-9116-FF078D0B7C18(a)microsoft.com... >>>> It is no more than a blink of the eyelid here to change from one forum to >>>> another (even with between ones that have hundreds of unread posts). >>>> >>>> Apparently, you will need a new bridge after to-morrow to be able to access >>>> the Answers forums. Whether the new bridge can be used simultaneously with >>>> the existing one (for access to the MSDN/Technet Forums) is not yet known. >>>> >>>> -- >>> As I said, I am using the bridge now and it does access Answers.en.... >>> without any issue other than speed. >>
From: bj on 23 May 2010 15:17 "Stefan Blom" <StefanBlom(a)discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:e87Gogq#KHA.5044(a)TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > First you will have to register a Live ID at the Answers forum: > http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/officeword. > Click the "Sign in" link and if you don't already have a Live ID, first > register. > > You can then use the web interface to ask questions in the appropriate > forum, or > you can download and install the Microsoft Answers Bridge from > http://connect.microsoft.com/MicrosoftForums/ which allows you to continue > using your newsreader. > I haven't dared try any of this bridge stuff yet & don't understand it. I'm leery of installing it before I know what it *is* or how it will mess up my system. Do you need a LiveID to get the bridge thing? What *is* the bridge -- s/w, website, or what?? Is it a sort of "usenet simulator" that's really a web page? Is this the same LiveID we may already have, though not used? I got it when I thought it was *required* for WLM -- they weren't exactly clear about this part, though I did -- after an uninstall & re-install -- manage to avoid getting *everything*. And there are still some email addresses they won't let you use to sign up, though apparently mine is no longer among them. Will we have to sign in with the LiveID to d/l messages? or just to d/l the bridge s/w (or whatevr it is)? or what? I'm already afraid of asking the wrong question in the wrong group; doing it via klunky-web-forum would just make it worse, as it's much harder to browse around first to see if you're even in the right place, or maybe even if your problem has already been asked & answered (asking again due to inadequate old-thread-browsing is akin to a capital offence, it seems.) Should I be asking this in another group? If so, please advise *which* & I'll move. bj
From: Suzanne S. Barnhill on 23 May 2010 15:52
Okay, let's take a step back here. These newsgroups will be shut down as of June 1 in the sense that Microsoft will close the Communities Web site and shut down the msnews server. If you're accessing the NGs via WLM, then you're getting them from msnews. You won't be able to do that any more, but there's a good chance that they will survive, at least for a time, on other news servers. If you have access to another news server (Eternal September is one that has been mentioned a lot), then you can continue to receive them, but you'll need to set up a new WLM account for that server. I haven't yet gotten around to doing this myself, so I can't tell you much more than that. Now, as for the Answers forums, you can, as it were, "try before you buy." You can view the Word forums at http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/officeword (or start at http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx to view all the Answers forums). You do not need to sign in just to read questions and answers, only to post. And yes, if you already have a Windows LiveID, you can use it. Now, the bridge. The bridge is a very small software add-in that allows you to access these Web forums with your newsreader (WLM in this case). Once you have it installed and running, you create a WLM news account for Answers, and you can access the forums just as if they were Usenet NGs (well, almost, anyway). If you go to https://connect.microsoft.com/MicrosoftForums/?wa=wsignin1.0 and scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see links to FAQs, instructions for downloading and installing the bridge, etc. But here, in a nutshell, is what happens: 1. You sign in and download the bridge, then install it. 2. You create a new news account in WLM giving 127.0.0.1 as the server address. 3. After "finishing" the account creation, you can go back to the account Properties and change the name of the account to "Microsoft Answers" (or anything else you like), fill in missing data, such as your Reply To address, and change the port from the default 119 to 120. 4. Installing the bridge adds a Start menu shortcut under Microsoft Community Tools. You may want to pin the shortcut to the Start menu or Taskbar because you have to start the bridge each time you restart Windows (for me, this is once a day). 5. The first time you start the bridge, you will be asked for your Windows LiveID and password (if the installation failed to pick this up, as it did when I installed on Windows 7 today, though it seems to me that on my Windows XP system it was retained). Tell Windows to remember it, and you're good to go. 6. Every time you start the bridge, a window will pop up with a Start button. When you click Start, you are logged into Answers. There's also a Stop button, but I can't imagine why you'd want to use it. The nice thing is that when you minimize this window, it automatically minimizes to the Systray instead of the Taskbar, so it's very unobtrusive. Once you've started the bridge, you use the Answers news account just like any other; downloading and posting work just the same. And you don't have to worry too much about posting in the wrong NG, as there are only three for Word: .wordcreate, .wordgraphic, and .wordshare. You may want to note their descriptions at http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/officeword, but of course there's a good bit of overlap, anyway. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA http://word.mvps.org "bj" <bjones44(a)bellatlantic.net> wrote in message news:eW25Lyq%23KHA.3704(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > "Stefan Blom" <StefanBlom(a)discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > news:e87Gogq#KHA.5044(a)TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >> First you will have to register a Live ID at the Answers forum: >> http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/officeword. >> Click the "Sign in" link and if you don't already have a Live ID, first >> register. >> >> You can then use the web interface to ask questions in the appropriate >> forum, or >> you can download and install the Microsoft Answers Bridge from >> http://connect.microsoft.com/MicrosoftForums/ which allows you to >> continue >> using your newsreader. >> > > I haven't dared try any of this bridge stuff yet & don't understand it. > I'm leery of installing it before I know what it *is* or how it will mess > up > my system. > > Do you need a LiveID to get the bridge thing? > What *is* the bridge -- s/w, website, or what?? > Is it a sort of "usenet simulator" that's really a web page? > > Is this the same LiveID we may already have, though not used? I got it > when > I thought it was *required* for WLM -- they weren't exactly clear about > this > part, though I did -- after an uninstall & re-install -- manage to avoid > getting *everything*. And there are still some email addresses they won't > let you use to sign up, though apparently mine is no longer among them. > > Will we have to sign in with the LiveID to d/l messages? or just to d/l > the > bridge s/w (or whatevr it is)? or what? > > I'm already afraid of asking the wrong question in the wrong group; doing > it > via klunky-web-forum would just make it worse, as it's much harder to > browse > around first to see if you're even in the right place, or maybe even if > your > problem has already been asked & answered (asking again due to inadequate > old-thread-browsing is akin to a capital offence, it seems.) > > Should I be asking this in another group? If so, please advise *which* & > I'll move. > bj > > |