Where are all the old sites on "news microsoft.com"?

[Ken Blake]

I am also one of those people who definately prefer newsgroups and rather
dislike "forums".

Me too.

Sure i know that i might sound "old" but i simply think that newsgroups are
easier to use -

I think they are much easier to use for those of us who answer
questions. But I think the forums are easier to use for those who are
looking for answers to questions.

Unfortunately Microsoft put the desires and needs of the latter group
over that of the former. In my view that was a big mistake, and they
should have been greatly concerned with the needs of both groups.
Making it harder for those who answer means that those looking for
help will get poorer help.

i don't have to click on a website, scroll up and down, low in etc etc.

You are perhaps unaware of the NNTP bridges. They let you use your
newsreader to participate in the forums. They are far from perfect,
and have their problems, but I use them, since in my view they are
much better than using the web-based forum interface. They are free
and you can download them.

Similar delelopments are sometimes seen when writing eMails:
i have a number of friends who don't even know what an eMail client (like
Windows Live Mail, OutlookExpress, Thunderbird or whatever) is,
they believe that you can only send or receive emakils whon logging onto the
www-site of the email provider, logging in, scrolling around etc.
Then when i tell them about an email client and when i set one up for them,
they are totally surprised how easy it is to use.

I'm completely with you here too.

And similar, in everyday public life, nowsgroups seem to become forgotten,
many people don't even know they exist.

Yes, but unfortunately that really isn't a new development. Rather
then forgetting them, most people never knew they existed. It's always
been a small percentage of computers users who used them (unless
perhaps you go way back to the very first days of the internet).

But i dislike this development and find it sad that MS obays to it.

Certainly i enjoy every new development but some "old" systems are well
established,
the NNTP protocol is a very good one and it works generally with little
traffic load.

Hope newsgroups have a future.

Alas, they almost certainly have a tiny future, if any.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003

 

[Ken Blake]

"Roland Schweiger (eternal september / motzarella)"


I think one of the main driving forces that persuaded MS to close the news
server was the proliferation of flames

You are probably right about that.

and plain stupid off-topic posts in
the Vista General newsgroup - there is far tighter control over that sort of
behaviour in a web-based forum...

Tighter control over flaming, but in my view, there is *more*
off-topic posting in the forums than there was in the newsgroups.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003

 

[milt]

Hope newsgroups have a future.

greetings

Roland Schweiger

Oh, I'm sure they do, but only among us more technically minded people
that actually know there is more to the internet than www.

 

[Roland Schweiger \(eternal september / motzarella\]

"Ken Blake"

You are perhaps unaware of the NNTP bridges. They let you use your
newsreader to participate in the forums. They are far from perfect,
and have their problems, but I use them, since in my view they are
much better than using the web-based forum interface. They are free
and you can download them.

True, i was / am relatively unaware of the NNTP bridges,
so to use them i thought i would just have to set up a newsgroup account
with a host name that sounds something like a news server,
but in reality acts as a bridge, didn't know that you must download and
install some application to perform the job.

greetings

Roland Schweiger

 

[Ken Blake]

"Ken Blake"

True, i was / am relatively unaware of the NNTP bridges,
so to use them i thought i would just have to set up a newsgroup account
with a host name that sounds something like a news server,
but in reality acts as a bridge, didn't know that you must download and
install some application to perform the job.

Yes, the application has to be installed, but it's a light-weight
application and doesn't hurt overall performance. I recommend that you
at least give it a try.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003

 

[Roy Smith]

Yes, the application has to be installed, but it's a light-weight
application and doesn't hurt overall performance. I recommend that you
at least give it a try.

I use them too... I just wish that there was a way to have them
automatically start and log me in when I start my mail/newsreader program.

--

Roy Smith
Windows XP Professional SP3

Timestamp: Sunday, June 20, 2010 8:33:28 PM

 

[Ken Blake]

I use them too... I just wish that there was a way to have them
automatically start and log me in when I start my mail/newsreader program.

You can easily have them start automatically. Start your newsreader
from a batch file, and have the bridges start in the same batch file.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003

 

[Zaidy036]

You can easily have them start automatically. Start your newsreader
from a batch file, and have the bridges start in the same batch file.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003

And how can one do that using an iPad?

 

[Ken Blake]

And how can one do that using an iPad?

No idea. I can't help with any iPad questions.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003