Hi, XweAponX.
I see that your post originated on VistaHeads. Did you KNOW that it was
being relayed to the Microsoft public news server?
These newsgroups are originally hosted HERE on the Microsoft public news
servers. They are free and do NOT require a login. Therefore, many other
organizations (like VistaHeads or WindowsKB) simply "slurp" messages from
here and relay them - and any responses - back and forth to and from their
own subscribers. The relay process often results in messages that are
delayed or out of sequence or simply lost. Many of these other
organizations generate revenue for themselves by posting advertisements on
their sites. In other words, they are making money from information posted
freely by others, usually without informing their subscribers and without
even giving credit to Microsoft for hosting the server for the original
posts. Many of those forums' subscribers expect that, since they must
register and use a password to post and to read responses, their posts there
are private or protected in some way, and they don't even realize that the
"forum" has relayed their questions and comments to the whole
no-password-required Usenet world.
Another problem is that the proprietary "forums" do not forward ALL their
own original posts to the Microsoft servers. Therefore, we quite often get
into the middle of a conversation. The first post that we see starts off,
"I'm having exactly the same problem." But we have no clue as to what "the
same problem" is because earlier messages in the thread have not been
forwarded to this Microsoft newsgroup. Also, other users of that forum may
have already posted responses, but those responses have not been forwarded
to the MS newsgroups, so we duplicate the effort that has already been done.
The forums also do not always relay all the responses posted here on the MS
servers.
Those forums do provide a useful service by providing more ways for users to
find help. And some experts who hang out in those forums do not often visit
these newsgroups. But the forums also create a lot of confusion by not
telling their users plainly enough and often enough just how their system
works.
You can "cut out the middleman" and reach the MS public servers directly,
using your default newsreader, by simply clicking here:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.vista.file_management
Or you can read the same messages in Microsoft Communities, using your
default web browser, by clicking here:
http://www.microsoft.com/communitie...icrosoft.public.windows.vista.file_management
You can try both methods and see which you like better. Microsoft is trying
hard to sell us on the web-based interface and many users like that
approach, but I much prefer the newsreader, and so do most newsgroup
regulars that I know. And, sometimes, the proprietary forums are the best
place to look, but you need to understand just what you are seeing.
This long-winded explanation is not just for you, XweAponX, but also for all
the other readers who may have been wondering the same thing. ;^}
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)
