I am not sure that they would take any notice of Microsoft. Microsoft I
suspect owns the server msnews.microsoft.com. I don't believe it owns the
groups, and it certainly doesn't own the material posted in them. I recall a
forum microsoft.public.word.general that Microsoft removed from its server
many years ago, that maintains an independent life (though it is not on the
text server I have been testing). Were Microsoft able to close down the
whole of Usenet aimed at its products, that would an act of corporate
vandalism on a huge scale.
The big difference will be that Microsoft will not longer link its help
forums to the Usenet world. Frankly it was a pain when it did so and has
been nothing but trouble - but it did ensure a steady supply of
contributions via those forums. Without that link, the traffic will
undoubtedly drop (and many corporates block NNTP access, so we will lose
those too). The problem is that only those of us who have been around for a
while are aware of the newsgroups. Microsoft does not give them any
publicity that I could easily find. Instead it will take its users to the
new forums, and the NNTP bridge they have provided will ensure that those of
us who haunt the newsgroups will be able to access the users who take that
change of direction ... if we can find them.
--
Graham Mayor - Word MVP
My web site
www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site
http://word.mvps.org
"Yves Dhondt" wrote in message
...
That's what I'm hoping for.
I guess it is all up to the major NNTP service providers (GigaNews,
SuperNews, ...). They serve hundreds of local ISPs and mirroring forums.
If they decide to pull the plug on the newsgroups (on a request made by
MS), the groups will disappear pretty fast. Otherwise, I guess they will
remain up and running for a long time.
Yves
"Graham Mayor" wrote in message
...
I wonder? I am currently accessing this newsgroup by a third party, text
based usenet server (Eternal-September), and the OP appears to have
accessed the server via a link from officefrustration.com (about which I
know nothing, but which is one of many forums that piggy back on Usenet).
Even if Microsoft pulls the plug on its newsserver msnews.microsoft.com,
this forum will have a life of its own independently from Microsoft, and I
wouldn't be at all surprised if those countless hangers-on (like
officefrustration.com) will still be connected. Rather than gaining from
the switch-off as Microsoft expects, it could possibly lose from it?
Google Groups for example is probably big enough to ensure that it remains
viable.
--
Graham Mayor - Word MVP
My web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org
"Yves Dhondt" wrote in message
...
Welcome, but you are a bit late to the party as "Effective June 1, 2010
this newsgroup will be closed." according to Microsoft.
Yves
"BarrettBaum" wrote in
message ...
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--
BarrettBaum