Just a test

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dave Peterson
  • Start date Start date
You would think that MS would have been more specific as to when they're
going to stop supporting these ngs (what time of day?)

How will we know when the "plug has been pulled" ? Will we just get a "can
not connect to server" message? Will we be able to connect to the server but
just won't be able to post?

Here's the url to the web interface for the ngs that I sometimes use:

http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx?

Can you see any kind of announcement on that page that tells us the ngs are
about to close and provides a link to the new forums?

I'm beginning to think that MS can't do anything right.
 
Maybe it's a reprieve from the governor? <vbg>

I didn't see any notification, but my guess (and it's only a guess) is that
sometime when you're refreshing the list of messages or posting a message
directly to the MSServers, it'll fail.

That will serve as the prior notification that you want <I crack me up!>.

ps.

I'm not sure when (or if) other newsservers will stop carrying the
microsoft.public.* newsgroups, but until they do, you may want to check the
traffic there.

I've signed up for 3 free (I'm cheap) newsservers.
news.aioe.org (some limits, like: 25 posts per day))
news.eternal-september.org (http://www.eternal-september.org to read about it)
news.albasani.net

I know I had to register with the bottom two. I don't remember with aioe.org
(it's been a long time).

But the community bridge by Jochen Kalmbach works pretty darn nice!
Ron de Bruin has some notes here:
http://www.rondebruin.nl/nntpbridge.htm

If you can use a newsreader (are you blocked at work???), you may not notice too
much of a difference!
 
Dave Peterson said:
Just testing to see if I can post to MS Servers.
Click to expand...

There's a BIG difference between posting to the microsoft.public.*
newsgroups generally vs posting to them specifically on
msnews.microsoft.com nntp servers. Microsoft has pulled the plug on
their own msnews.microsoft.com servers, but as long as ISPs and Google
Groups continue to support the microsoft.public.* newsgroups, they
won't disappear.

Consider: there are still postings to
microsoft.public.excel.worksheetfunctions (note only 3 periods). They
just don't go through the msnews.microsoft.com servers. I'd note that
it appears you posted through a Verizon account, and I'm reading and
responding to it through Google Groups.

This is the strength of USENET/NNPT. It was meant to keep working even
if a country or even a continent or two sank into the ocean. As long
as ISPs retain microsoft.public.* newsgroups in their NNTP servers'
newsgroups lists, it'll remain possible to continue to use them. In
the short term the only thing that won't be possible is accessing them
through msnews.microsoft.com.

That said, the one drawback to ISP-hosted newsgroups is latency. ISPs
tend to delete newsgroup messages after a short period of time, as
short as 2 days on some, as long as a few months on others, but there
won't be 12 months or more of postings like there was on
msnews.microsoft.com servers. Google Groups remains the best archive
of old postings.
 
Verizon.net is my ISP, but they've stopped carrying newsgroups a while ago. I
connect directly to the MSServers to post here.

I think the main problem will be if MS sends out remove group command. I don't
know if others servers will respect those requests.

I've read in other forums that at least one admin will of another newsserver
will respect the request and remove the newsgroups. (It may have been
eternal-september, but I don't recall for sure.)

So for me, finding a replacement newsserver (cheap, preferably free) that still
carries these groups would be the challenge. (I don't like the web based google
groups any better than the web based MS forums/Answers.)

I would expect that most people (non-regulars) would migrate to the MS hosted
answers forum just to avoid costs/aggrevation. And traffic will diminish (I bet
significantly).

BTW, I think MS changed their limit to 90 days a year or more ago. They may
have even cut it to 30 days. But I agree, if I'm looking for something more
than a day or two old, I'll use google groups.
 
This:

I've read in other forums that at least one admin will of another newsserver
will respect the request and remove the newsgroups. (It may have been
eternal-september, but I don't recall for sure.)

Should have been:

I've read in another forum that at least one admin of another newsserver will
respect the requests and remove the newsgroups. (It may have been
eternal-september, but I don't recall for sure.)
 
Dave Peterson said:
Verizon.net is my ISP, but they've stopped carrying newsgroups a while ago..  I
connect directly to the MSServers to post here.
Click to expand...
....

OK. Odd that your response to which I'm responding here carries the
tag

NNTP-Posting-Host: pool-70-105-124-151.chi.dsl-w.verizon.net
70.105.124.151
I think the main problem will be if MS sends out remove group command.  I don't
know if others servers will respect those requests.
Click to expand...
....

Didn't work for microsoft.public.excel.worksheetfunctions, that is, if
MSFT tried doing so when they replaced that newsgroup with
microsoft.public.excel.worksheet.functions.

I don't mind Google Groups because it provides a tree view of article-
response threads. MSFT's web format is much less usable, at least for
me.

Who knows? Maybe this'll breath new life into comp.apps.spreadsheets.
Doubt it, though.
 
I think that the NNTP-Posting-Host represents my IP and ISP.

But the
Path: TK2MSFTNGP01.phx.gbl!TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl
shows a direct link.

And someday with all the social networking nonsense (my term), I think questions
and answers will have to be done in 140 characters or less.

Plain old text isn't very sexy.

And worksheetfunctions (without the dot) is gone from those 3 free newsservers.
(It may have taken years, though!)
 
"Harlan Grove" wrote in message
There's a BIG difference between posting to the microsoft.public.*
newsgroups generally vs posting to them specifically on
msnews.microsoft.com nntp servers. Microsoft has pulled the plug on
their own msnews.microsoft.com servers, but as long as ISPs and Google
Groups continue to support the microsoft.public.* newsgroups, they
won't disappear.
Click to expand...

I think that will depend on what cancel notices, if any, MS send out and if
the ISPs observe them.

If this message arrives it means msnews.microsoft.com is still working, 'cos
that's the account in my OE I'm using!

Regards,
Peter T
 
Peter T formulated on Tuesday :
"Harlan Grove" wrote in message

I think that will depend on what cancel notices, if any, MS send out and if
the ISPs observe them.

If this message arrives it means msnews.microsoft.com is still working, 'cos
that's the account in my OE I'm using!

Regards,
Peter T
Click to expand...

Hi Peter,
Just a note to confirm that I have switched reading all my news groups
through news.e-s.org, and so is where I access this NG. Seems to be
working normal.

regards,
 
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