Newsgroups, Windows live mail

[Jim]

It's my understanding that Microsoft Live Mail will no longer provide or
facilitate access to NNTP newsgroups, and that they are gradually
eliminating access. With Windows 7, I can no longer get access to
newsgroups even though I pay a monthly fee to a commercial service for
newsgroup access. ( I have been able to get access on Thunderbird, but
not on Windows Live Mail or Yahoo mail.)

Does this mean that newsgroup access is no longer of general interest,
and that it may eventually die off? Or, am I doing something wrong when
I try to access them on Yahoo or Windows mail? - I would be interested
in what others are using and recommend for newsgroup access.

Reading some of the Microsoft pronouncements on the matter, it sounds
like they want us to shift to Microsoft discussion groups of various
kinds, which apparently have Microsoft supervision and moderation. (In
the past, I have found NNTP newsgroups, both moderated and unmoderated,
to be a great source of information on a variety of subjects. I would
hate to see them go.)

Jim

 

[Bruce Hagen]

It's my understanding that Microsoft Live Mail will no longer provide or
facilitate access to NNTP newsgroups, and that they are gradually
eliminating access. With Windows 7, I can no longer get access to
newsgroups even though I pay a monthly fee to a commercial service for
newsgroup access. ( I have been able to get access on Thunderbird, but
not on Windows Live Mail or Yahoo mail.)

Does this mean that newsgroup access is no longer of general interest,
and that it may eventually die off? Or, am I doing something wrong when
I try to access them on Yahoo or Windows mail? - I would be interested
in what others are using and recommend for newsgroup access.

Reading some of the Microsoft pronouncements on the matter, it sounds
like they want us to shift to Microsoft discussion groups of various
kinds, which apparently have Microsoft supervision and moderation. (In
the past, I have found NNTP newsgroups, both moderated and unmoderated,
to be a great source of information on a variety of subjects. I would
hate to see them go.)

Jim

Windows 7 is an OS and has nothing to do with the newsgroups. MS shut dows
their servers last October. The same newsgroups are still available using
other newsreaders such as AIOE, or Eternal September, etc. Since many
users were accessing these newsgroups through the backdoor Web based CDO,
I would say all of those users as well as a lot of Usenet users, migrated
to the new Microsoft Answers forums.

The newsgroups ar still there, but they have significantly declined in
use. For instance, tha last post in the
microsoft.public.windows.vista.mail newsgroup was on January 6, 2011.

 

[Alex Clayton]

It's my understanding that Microsoft Live Mail will no longer provide or
facilitate access to NNTP newsgroups, and that they are gradually
eliminating access. With Windows 7, I can no longer get access to
newsgroups even though I pay a monthly fee to a commercial service for
newsgroup access. ( I have been able to get access on Thunderbird, but not
on Windows Live Mail or Yahoo mail.)
Snip
Jim

So who told you this?
I am using Win.7 and WLM and it is working just great.

 

[Jeff Layman]

So who told you this?
I am using Win.7 and WLM and it is working just great.

That's because you have stayed with WLM version 14. Heaven help those
who install v15 and expect to make sense of even a short thread!

 

[Bruce Hagen]

That's because you have stayed with WLM version 14. Heaven help those

who install v15 and expect to make sense of even a short thread!

+1

 

[Clogwog]

So who told you this?
I am using Win.7 and WLM and it is working just great.

Since you run Microsoft Windows Live Mail 14.0.8089.726, yes it does.
If you upgrade to WLM 2011, it's going to be a mess!

 

[Ken Blake]

It's my understanding that Microsoft Live Mail will no longer provide or
facilitate access to NNTP newsgroups, and that they are gradually
eliminating access.

Microsoft has shut down all its news server (although its old
newsgroups are still carried by most servers). Whether future versions
of Windows Live Mail will include newsreading capability, I don't
know, but personally I don't like Windows Live Mail's newsreading
capability at all. I think it's even poorer as a newsreader than as an
e-mail client. I use Outlook 2010 for e-mail and Forté Agent 6.0 for a
newsreader.

With Windows 7, I can no longer get access to
newsgroups even though I pay a monthly fee to a commercial service for
newsgroup access.

Not at all true. Windows 7 has no newsreading capability, and never
has had any. You get newsreading capability if you install a
newsreader, and don't have it if you don't have one installed. I'm not
sure if you think Windows Live Mail comes with Windows 7, but let me
tell you that it does *not* (although it may have come with your
computer because your manufacturer installed it there).

( I have been able to get access on Thunderbird, but
not on Windows Live Mail or Yahoo mail.)

There are *many* newsreaders available for your use--some for sale,
some free. Many people like Thunderbird, but as I said, I prefer and
use Forté Agent 6.0 for a newsreader. I have *tried* Windows Live Mail
as a newsreader. I can't tell you why you are having a problem with
it, but I can assure you that it *does* work, even though I don't like
the way it works.

Does this mean that newsgroup access is no longer of general interest,

Microsoft's shutting down its servers has greatly reduced newsgroup
usage. But it hasn't eliminated it.

and that it may eventually die off?

I wouldn't be surprised if it does. But it has a ways to go yet. It's
not going to die off tomorrow.

Or, am I doing something wrong when
I try to access them on Yahoo or Windows mail?

I can't tell you anything about Yahoo. You say "Windows Mail"; do you
mean Windows Live Mail (a different program from Windows Mail)? If you
are unable to get newsgroups with Windows Live Mail, you are clearly
doing something wrong. As poorly as it works, it does work.


But unless you particularly liked the way Windows Live Mail worked, I
recommend that you don't worry about what you're doing wrong with it,
but try and use a different newsreader.

I would be interested
in what others are using and recommend for newsgroup access.

As I said above, I use Forté Agent 6.0 for a newsreader. I've tried
several others and like Agent the best. I recommend it.

Reading some of the Microsoft pronouncements on the matter, it sounds
like they want us to shift to Microsoft discussion groups of various
kinds, which apparently have Microsoft supervision and moderation.

That's absolutely correct (alas), and in my view, they made a terrible
mistake in doing what they did. They are greatly inferior to the old
Microsoft newsgroups, in may ways.

But note that there are something over 100,000 newsgroups in
existence. Microsoft newsgroups accounted for somewhere around 100 of
them. They were popular newsgroups, so what they did had a big effect.
But there are still lots of other newsgroups left (including this one)
and many of them are also very popular.

(In
the past, I have found NNTP newsgroups, both moderated and unmoderated,
to be a great source of information on a variety of subjects. I would
hate to see them go.)

Again, they probably will go, one of these days, but it won't be
immediate.

Many of the same people who were in the Microsoft newsgroups are now
in the Microsoft forums, so the forums too are still providing lots of
good information. And it's possible to access the Microsoft web-based
forums with a newsreader if you use an NNTP bridge. Microsoft has two
NNTP bridges available but I prefer the Community Forums NNTP bridge,
which you can download for free at
http://communitybridge.codeplex.com/ I participate in the web-based
forums, but, diehard that I am, I do it with the Community Forums NNTP
bridge and the Forté Agent 6.0 newsreader.

 

[Alex Clayton]

Since you run Microsoft Windows Live Mail 14.0.8089.726, yes it does.
If you upgrade to WLM 2011, it's going to be a mess!

Great, I did not know MS decided to screw this up now. I guess if I get
another computer or have to format one I will have to learn to use something
like T-Bird then. I had tried them years ago but gave up.
What changes have they made to Win.-7 that would keep these from working
with the news readers, or is it just WLM they decided to screw up???

 

[Bruce Hagen]

Great, I did not know MS decided to screw this up now. I guess if I get
another computer or have to format one I will have to learn to use
something like T-Bird then. I had tried them years ago but gave up.
What changes have they made to Win.-7 that would keep these from
working with the news readers, or is it just WLM they decided to screw
up???
--
Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to
know 'why' I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the
roads weren't paved.
Will Rogers

They just screwed up WLMail. On my Win7, I use TBird for mail and Windows
Mail for news.

 

[Brian Gregory [UK]]

Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Oct. 1, 2004 ~ Sept. 30, 2010
Imperial Beach, CA

Why not beyond 30 Sept. 2010?

 

[Bruce Hagen]

Why not beyond 30 Sept. 2010?

--

Brian Gregory. (In the UK)
(e-mail address removed)
To email me remove the letter vee.

Each award is for the past year's contributions. I was not re-awarded
because I did not contribute to the Windows Live community as much as
others. Why this all of a sudden became a pre-requisite, I do not know. I
never posted much at all in the Windows Live Mail newsgroups/forums as I
never really got into that program. Not recently, and not when it was
Windows Live Mail desktop. It wasn't even a pipe dream when I was awarded
the first time. They are looking for evangelists for the "Live" programs
and I did not/will not conform.

You need a Live ID to see this, but this is what I accumulated in the
forums in one year. It won't good enough for them.
http://social.answers.microsoft.com...=XhUBaCHJRwSlkQMY79Po3+hHdzrjvrB+JtiBQaKTCoM=

No worries though. Being an "Ex" doesn't bother me a bit.

 

[Ken Blake]

What changes have they made to Win.-7 that would keep these from working
with the news readers, ...

None. Windows 7 started out working fine with newsreaders, and still
does.

... or is it just WLM they decided to screw up???

As far as I'm concerned, they didn't suddenly decide to screw up
Windows Live Mail. Windows Live Mail started out screwed up from the
very beginning. I never liked it.

 

[Weasel]

You got that right. I didn't listen and installed that piece of crap and
tried to remove it. Had to end up reinstalling my Win 7 and all the
applications.

 

[Nil]

What changes have they made to Win.-7 that would keep these from
working with the news readers, or is it just WLM they decided to
screw up???

There's nothing in Win7 that interferes with reading news. The latest
version of Windows Live Mail (WLM2011, a.k.a. version 15) has broken
several features that royally screw up all replies. Among other
problems...

- it no longer distinguishes quoted text from your reply, so it's
impossible to tell who said what;

- if you use a signature, when you reply to a message it includes the
previous message's quoted material with the sig, so most other
newsreaders will not include it in their replies;

- it inserts spurious question mark characters in your messages.

So far, Microsoft has not given any indication that they plan to fix
these broken features, so you are best off using another newsreader, or
sticking with WLM2009 (ver. 14.) I think WLM2009 is still available for
download on the MS Download web site, in case you made the mistake of
"upgrading" when it was offered as an automatic update.

 

[Ken Blake]

You got that right. I didn't listen and installed that piece of crap and
tried to remove it. Had to end up reinstalling my Win 7 and all the
applications.

Why did you have to do that? That was a lot of work, for almost no
benefit. Yes, it's worse than the older version, but the older version
wasn't much good either. You could have left it there and just not
used it. There are many better choices you could have used instead.

 

[Weasel]

When I unstalled WLM 2011 the 2009 version was gone. I downloaded the 2009
version and everytime I tried to install it I got a message saying I already
had a newer version and would end.

 

[relic]

When I unstalled WLM 2011 the 2009 version was gone. I downloaded the 2009
version and everytime I tried to install it I got a message saying I
already had a newer version and would end.

Remove Version 15 in Add/Remove programs first, then you can install Version
14.

For those who want to go back to Version 14, here's a download:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/2m7ujt

 

[Lewis]

It's my understanding that Microsoft Live Mail will no longer provide or
facilitate access to NNTP newsgroups, and that they are gradually
eliminating access.

You can still access newsgroups and post with WLM, but you will piss
over every person in whatever newsgroup you post to since WLM is
severely broken and cannot post properly. MSFT has know about this issue
and has made no moves towards fixing it.

Does this mean that newsgroup access is no longer of general interest,
and that it may eventually die off? Or, am I doing something wrong when
I try to access them on Yahoo or Windows mail? - I would be interested
in what others are using and recommend for newsgroup access.

The percentage of people on the Internet who have any idea what USENET
is is a vanishingly small percentage.

But there are other options than the steaming pile of crap that is
Windows Live Mail.

[ This assumes that I am thinking of the right Windows 7 product, which
I've never used but have had to deal with the broken posts from ]

 

[Weasel]

I did remove 2011 first. Had no problem removing it.

 

[Stan Brown]

Great, I did not know MS decided to screw this up now. I guess if I get
another computer or have to format one I will have to learn to use something
like T-Bird then. I had tried them years ago but gave up.

Unless you are dissatisfied with your mail program, I can't imagine
why you'd install another one. Thunderbird is a mail program that
incidentally does newsgroups. You are much better off to install a
program that is intended to do newsgroups. My own personal favorite
is Gravity, but there are plenty of other choices that are superior
to Thunderbird, let alone WLM.