Update - Microsoft Responds to the Evolution of Community
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From: Dave Symes on 9 May 2010 03:49 In article <ubopmyn7KHA.1316(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, <nntp(a)microsoft.com> wrote: > What is Happening? This message is to inform you that Microsoft will > soon begin discontinuing newsgroups and transitioning users to Microsoft > forums. Grief... Forums are appalling and tedious places, and I only go there as a very last resort, and from my experience over many years, not an evolution but the opposite. Dave -- Dave Triffid
From: Doug Robbins - Word MVP on 9 May 2010 05:12 Using the NNTP Bridge, as referred to in the article, to access the forums from Outlook Express, Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail, you would hardly notice the fact that you were not accessing an NNTP newsgroup. The real issue is the forums that have been nominated as the replacement in the case of some newsgroups. -- 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 "Dave Symes" <dave(a)triffid.co.uk> wrote in message news:51149a7776dave(a)triffid.co.uk... > In article <ubopmyn7KHA.1316(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, > <nntp(a)microsoft.com> wrote: > >> What is Happening? This message is to inform you that Microsoft will >> soon begin discontinuing newsgroups and transitioning users to Microsoft >> forums. > > Grief... Forums are appalling and tedious places, and I only go there as a > very last resort, and from my experience over many years, not an evolution > but the opposite. > > Dave > > -- > > Dave Triffid
From: Yves Dhondt on 9 May 2010 06:10 With the current status of the NNTP bridge, I wouldn't say "hardly notice". Especially the plain text / HTML switch is annoying. I guess next to all caps messages, we can now also expect all bold size 72 caps brightly pink messages. Next to the fact that the message contains plain lies (Microsoft is currently not closing down localized newsgroups which are much less used than the 'general' ones for example) I wonder if it is actually possible to kill a newsgroup. The structure of NNTP doesn't define a hierarchy. Right now, most local ISPs offer direct access to these newsgroups. In turn, they probably connect to a major player like Giganews or Supernews. Pulling the plug on Microsoft's side will only influence people directly connecting through Microsoft. And they could easily migrate. Add to that the dozens of sites already mirroring the groups through a forum (http://www.tech-archive.net/, http://groups.google.com/, http://www.vistaheads.com/forums/, http://www.officefrustration.com/, ...) and I doubt it will be an easy takedown. Yves "Doug Robbins - Word MVP" <dkr(a)REMOVECAPSmvps.org> wrote in message news:O4N2Qf17KHA.3964(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > Using the NNTP Bridge, as referred to in the article, to access the forums > from Outlook Express, Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail, you would hardly > notice the fact that you were not accessing an NNTP newsgroup. > > The real issue is the forums that have been nominated as the replacement > in the case of some newsgroups. > > -- > 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 > > "Dave Symes" <dave(a)triffid.co.uk> wrote in message > news:51149a7776dave(a)triffid.co.uk... >> In article <ubopmyn7KHA.1316(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, >> <nntp(a)microsoft.com> wrote: >> >>> What is Happening? This message is to inform you that Microsoft will >>> soon begin discontinuing newsgroups and transitioning users to Microsoft >>> forums. >> >> Grief... Forums are appalling and tedious places, and I only go there as >> a >> very last resort, and from my experience over many years, not an >> evolution >> but the opposite. >> >> Dave >> >> -- >> >> Dave Triffid >
From: Graham Mayor on 9 May 2010 06:28 For most users even with the availability of alternative servers, as far as Office products are concerned they will die, as most people coming for help will not be aware of the alternatives - nor for that matter of the whole world of Usenet. They are coming here from the forums that Microsoft has directed them to. It is primarily we, the respondents, who access the servers directly. The reason that "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." is simply attributable to the fact that Microsoft has made no attempt to publicise the presence of the NNTP server as a source of information. It prefers to use the web forums - a triumph of presentation over content. By killing off the connection to the NNTP server, they will effectively kill off most of the traffic as users will not find their way here. I do however agree with Doug that the bridge will (for those of us who respond to questions) enable us to continue to participate. If this means a break from plain text to html, I can live with that. The greater area of concern is the nominated forums to take the place of the current newsgroups - especially those related to vba. I am now looking for a new server to continue supporting the newsgroups. One thing is for certain, I won't be going to the web pages. Life is simply too short. -- <>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<> Graham Mayor - Word MVP My web site www.gmayor.com Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org <>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<> "Yves Dhondt" <yves.dhondt(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:e5Xes$17KHA.5808(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > With the current status of the NNTP bridge, I wouldn't say "hardly > notice". Especially the plain text / HTML switch is annoying. I guess next > to all caps messages, we can now also expect all bold size 72 caps > brightly pink messages. > > Next to the fact that the message contains plain lies (Microsoft is > currently not closing down localized newsgroups which are much less used > than the 'general' ones for example) I wonder if it is actually possible > to kill a newsgroup. The structure of NNTP doesn't define a hierarchy. > Right now, most local ISPs offer direct access to these newsgroups. In > turn, they probably connect to a major player like Giganews or Supernews. > Pulling the plug on Microsoft's side will only influence people directly > connecting through Microsoft. And they could easily migrate. Add to that > the dozens of sites already mirroring the groups through a forum > (http://www.tech-archive.net/, http://groups.google.com/, > http://www.vistaheads.com/forums/, http://www.officefrustration.com/, ...) > and I doubt it will be an easy takedown. > > Yves > > "Doug Robbins - Word MVP" <dkr(a)REMOVECAPSmvps.org> wrote in message > news:O4N2Qf17KHA.3964(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >> Using the NNTP Bridge, as referred to in the article, to access the >> forums from Outlook Express, Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail, you would >> hardly notice the fact that you were not accessing an NNTP newsgroup. >> >> The real issue is the forums that have been nominated as the replacement >> in the case of some newsgroups. >> >> -- >> 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 >> >> "Dave Symes" <dave(a)triffid.co.uk> wrote in message >> news:51149a7776dave(a)triffid.co.uk... >>> In article <ubopmyn7KHA.1316(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, >>> <nntp(a)microsoft.com> wrote: >>> >>>> What is Happening? This message is to inform you that Microsoft will >>>> soon begin discontinuing newsgroups and transitioning users to >>>> Microsoft >>>> forums. >>> >>> Grief... Forums are appalling and tedious places, and I only go there as >>> a >>> very last resort, and from my experience over many years, not an >>> evolution >>> but the opposite. >>> >>> Dave >>> >>> -- >>> >>> Dave Triffid >> >
From: FDLeyda on 9 May 2010 11:17 One of the things I like about the newsgroups is I can subscribe to many of them on my newsreader and move easily from group to group. Is there going to be one web site where I can go and move easily from forum to forum ? FDLeyda ************************************************************************************************* <nntp(a)microsoft.com> wrote in message news:ubopmyn7KHA.1316(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > 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/ > > Which Newsgroups Are Affected by this Shutdown? > All public newsgroups will eventually be closed between June 1, 2010 and > October 1, 2010. Microsoft will be closing newsgroups in a phased > approach, > starting with the least active newsgroups and moving eventually to more > active ones throughout the course of the next six months. > > 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 >
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