Hi, TurboToes.
Its fine to resurrect an old post. But be sure to quote that old thread so
that we readers have some idea of what it was all about.
Since I use a newsreader, rather than the web-based interface, I'm not sure
which button to check to be sure that the prior message gets quoted, but it
was there the last time I looked at that interface. Like most experienced
users of newsgroups (which Microsoft Communities really is), I prefer to use
a newsreader, such as Outlook Express in WinXP or Windows Mail in Vista. If
you would like to try WM, just click this link:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices
That single click (unless you are blocked by something like a corporate
firewall) should start Windows Mail, set up an account for the Microsoft
public news server (which is free and does not require you to log on),
subscribe you to this .vista.hardware_devices NG, and download the 300
latest headers for you. From there, you can click Tools | Options... and
customize WM to suit yourself. For example, on the Send tab, you can check
the box to "Include message in reply".
Then just navigate to the old post, click Reply Group, and add your comments
or question, then Send.
If that old post is not within the most recent 300, you may need to go back
to Tools | Options... and click the Read tab. Under News, the default is to
get 300 at a time; you can up this to as high as 1,000, or remove the check
entirely to get ALL the messages still available on the news server. Be
warned that some NGs have tens of thousands of messages and it can take a
looong time to get them all, even with broadband. And this checkbox is
global, not by NG. So you might want to get all messages for this hardware
NG, which has just over 3,000, and then put the check back in the box before
visiting .vista.general, for example, which has nearly 12,000. (Some active
NGs have over 100,000!)
You probably know most of this, but there are always some newbies "lurking"
(also known as "reading over our shoulders"), which is a GOOD thing in NGs,
and this might be interesting to them.
The main point - if you don't quote the prior message, then we readers are
left scratching our head as to the exact question, even when you quote the
Subject line. If you don't quote the old thread, then please start a new
one, rather than "resurrect" the old.
Sorry. Didn't mean to write a book, but when I get started... ;^}
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Mail 7.0 in Vista Ultimate x64)
