Read MS Win7 Forums in your newsreader

[Mark Blain]

I just found out there is now a way to read the web-based microsoft forums
for Windows 7 in your newsreader.

The "Microsoft Forums NNTP Bridge" program runs on your pc, and works as a
proxy to download the forum names and messages so they show up in your
newsreader as newsgroups.

The program is still under development. I just started fooling with it.
So far, I've noticed that your newsreader needs to support UTF-8 to read
the message subjects, and must also support HTML since most of the message
bodies seem to rely on it for proper line-wrap and formatting.

More information:
https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=927
<http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/browse_
thread/thread/8dacf0442b44dea8/5d82161e27afb7ba?#5d82161e27afb7ba>

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I just found out there is now a way to read the web-based microsoft forums
for Windows 7 in your newsreader.

The "Microsoft Forums NNTP Bridge" program runs on your pc, and works as a
proxy to download the forum names and messages so they show up in your
newsreader as newsgroups.

Yes, I've been using the NNTP bridge for quite a while. It works but
just barely. It has lots of problems, which is why I haven't mentioned
it to others here.

I use it in preference to using the web-based forums, but I'm still
very unhappy with all the problems and bugs it has.

Still, I hope and look forward to the day when all those problems are
behind it.

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

Yes, I've been using the NNTP bridge for quite a while. It works but
just barely. It has lots of problems, which is why I haven't
mentioned it to others here.

I use it in preference to using the web-based forums, but I'm still
very unhappy with all the problems and bugs it has.

Still, I hope and look forward to the day when all those problems are
behind it.

I really, really, really don't like web based forums. I wish Microsoft
would go back to NNTP groups. They can exercise just as much control.
The only thing they can't do is sell advertising....oh.

 

[LouB]

I really, really, really don't like web based forums. I wish Microsoft
would go back to NNTP groups. They can exercise just as much control.
The only thing they can't do is sell advertising....oh.

Sadly usenet is overrun with noise from a people with nothing useful to say.

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

Sadly usenet is overrun with noise from a people with nothing useful
to say.

No argument, but Microsoft has its own NNTP server (news.microsoft.com).
It doesn't need Usenet to host its newsgroups.

 

[SC Tom]

No argument, but Microsoft has its own NNTP server (news.microsoft.com).
It doesn't need Usenet to host its newsgroups.

--
Crash

"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
~ Samuel Johnson ~

Unfortunately there are no Windows 7 newsgroups there, just the forums.
Can't get there in Live Mail or OE without the NNTP bridge, and I'm not
crazy about it.

 

[LouB]

No argument, but Microsoft has its own NNTP server (news.microsoft.com).
It doesn't need Usenet to host its newsgroups.

Yabut unless all the newsgroups are moderated you get the "noise".
I guess forums are easier to control

 

[Tom Lake]

Unfortunately there are no Windows 7 newsgroups there, just the forums.
Can't get there in Live Mail or OE without the NNTP bridge, and I'm not crazy about it.

Does your ISP have a news server? It seems like not many do these days.
If so try that one, if not, try one of the free ones. I use albasani.net (you need to get
a free user name and password first) but many people like other ones, too.

Tom Lake

 

[SC Tom]

Does your ISP have a news server? It seems like not many do these days.
If so try that one, if not, try one of the free ones. I use albasani.net
(you need to get
a free user name and password first) but many people like other ones, too.

Tom Lake

Yes, it has a news server, and carries this newsgroup which I access through
OE and/or LM, depending on which PC I'm on. But news.microsoft.com has no
Windows 7 newsgroups.

 

[Mr doe]

Yes, it has a news server, and carries this newsgroup which I access
through OE and/or LM, depending on which PC I'm on. But
news.microsoft.com has no Windows 7 newsgroups.

You got that correct. MS want to make it hard for u to read problems
with win 7... They only have a WEB BASED newsgroup.

 

[Zootal]

Yabut unless all the newsgroups are moderated you get the "noise".

I guess forums are easier to control

That is exactly it. Microsoft and Windows in general is all about control.
Microsoft polices their own usenet servers (msnews.microsoft.com), and will
remove messages they don't want. The problem with that is that their
newsgroups are propagated to other usenet servers, and the messages
Microsoft removes from their servers do not get removed from the others. So
you look for messages on msnews.microsoft.com and don't find them, you load
the same newsgroup in some other server, say giganews or even google, and
you see them. Microsoft does not like that - they want absolute control
over what people see in their newsgroups, and if you use some other server
to view their newsgroups, you see messages Microsoft doesn't want you to
see.

Easy solution - get rid of the newsgroups, and move to forums that they
have absolute control over.

 

[milt]

I just found out there is now a way to read the web-based microsoft forums
for Windows 7 in your newsreader.

Yeah, you can do it but damn its not worth it, too much garbage, not
enough useful info.

 

[milt]

Easy solution - get rid of the newsgroups, and move to forums that they
have absolute control over.

Actually, I think it has less to do with control and more to do with the
fact it actually takes functioning braincells to access newsgroups and
any schmuck can access a forum. Unfortunately, most of the people using
Windows tend to be well, not all that computer-smart as can be seen by
the posts in that forum. Tons of really bad questions, repeated over and
over because no one can be bothered to look past the first couple pages
(or even first page) of posts to see if anyone else has the same
problem/question (and many do). Most of the questions that people that
can access these forums would have, would be far beyond the abilities of
most of the people in those forums.

 

[LD55ZRA]

Unfortunately, most of the people using
Windows tend to be well, not all that computer-smart as can be seen by
the posts in that forum. Tons of really bad questions, repeated over and
over because no one can be bothered to look past the first couple pages
(or even first page) of posts to see if anyone else has the same
problem/question (and many do). Most of the questions that people that
can access these forums would have, would be far beyond the abilities of
most of the people in those forums.

They are all like Frank who has been diagnosed with severe strain of
dead cells in his brain. He is in the first stage of dementia and very
likely be the first person to benefit from Obama's medicare plan!!!

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Yeah, you can do it but damn its not worth it, too much garbage, not
enough useful info.

I don't agree. I use the Microsoft NNTP Bridge to access the Microsoft
Windows 7 forums. The bridge isn't perfect, but it's getting better
with each release, and as far as I'm concerned it's much faster and
better than accessing them on the web.

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

I just found out there is now a way to read the web-based microsoft
forums for Windows 7 in your newsreader.

The "Microsoft Forums NNTP Bridge" program runs on your pc, and works
as a proxy to download the forum names and messages so they show up
in your newsreader as newsgroups.

The program is still under development. I just started fooling with
it. So far, I've noticed that your newsreader needs to support UTF-8
to read the message subjects, and must also support HTML since most
of the message bodies seem to rely on it for proper line-wrap and
formatting.

More information:
https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=927
<http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/browse_
thread/thread/8dacf0442b44dea8/5d82161e27afb7ba?#5d82161e27afb7ba>

Jeez! I tried to install it and set it up and decided it is more trouble
than it is worth. I can't even download it without installing special
download software.