Re: Update - Microsoft Responds to the Evolution of Community

[Kevin Beares [MSFT]]

Hi everyone,

We are going to be creating a Forum for Small Business Server in the near
future. Until that date, please redirect your questions to the SBS Newsgroup
at microsoft.public.server.sbs.

We worked really hard with the STO to develop an offline solution for the
Web Forums called the NNTP Bridge. Please read the following paragraph and
try to familiarize yourself with this solution. We hope that this solution
will help bridge the gap between the newsgroups and the web forums for our
power NNTP users.

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 NNTP reader
functionality. You can find instructions on how to download and set up the
NNTP Bridge here:

http://connect.microsoft.com/MicrosoftForums/

Sorry if this creates any confusion for anyone.

Thanks,

Kevin Beares
Community Lead - Windows Server Division

<nn...@microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:e41rD5t7...@TK2MSFTNGP05.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.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/windowsserver
>
> 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
> NN...@microsoft.com
>