Newsgroup respondents

[Fred Hoffman]

What does the designation "mvps.org" or "MS-MVP" mean in
the address of a respondent to a newsgroup posting?

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP-Windows Shell/User\)]

You can find out about the MVP program at the following web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/mvp/program.asp

The MVP.org domain is maintained and used by several members in the program.
It essentially gives them an e-mail address tied directly to the program.
Some MVPs use it, other's don't, it is simply an option for members of the
program.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend

"Fred Hoffman" > wrote in message
...
> What does the designation "mvps.org" or "MS-MVP" mean in
> the address of a respondent to a newsgroup posting?

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

Fred ,

MS-MVP or MVP is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional
see http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
The Microsoft MVP Program
The Microsoft MVP Program is a worldwide award and recognition program that
strives to identify amazing individuals in technical communities around the
globe who share a passion for technology and the spirit of community.
Microsoft MVPs are recognized for both their demonstrated practical
expertise and willingness to share their experience with peers in Microsoft
technical communities.

What is the Microsoft MVP award?
The Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award is an annual award that
is given to outstanding members of Microsoft's peer-to-peer communities.

Why does the award exist?
Microsoft believes that a robust, interactive user community is key to
helping customers maximize the solutions and benefits from their software
investments. The MVP Award is the way Microsoft recognizes those
participants who have made a highly positive impact in the technical and
product communities they participate in. Microsoft wants community
participants and leaders to know that their contributions are greatly
appreciated. The MVP Award exists as a way to reach out to and thank
outstanding members for their past participation and willingness to help
others in these communities.



(MSFT - is a Microsoft employee)
--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups

"Fred Hoffman" > wrote in message
...
> What does the designation "mvps.org" or "MS-MVP" mean in
> the address of a respondent to a newsgroup posting?

[R. C. White]

Hi, Fred.

Mike and Michael gave you the formal answers. Now, how about a little
personal perspective. ;<)

I got my first computer (a TRS-80) in 1977, and was online (with a 300-baud
acoustic modem with "mouse-ears") with BBSes and CompuServe by 1979. Those
early Bulletin Board Systems were the first equivalents of today's
newsgroups - or the Communities, as Microsoft calls them when reached
through the Web-based interface, as you did. We were all exploring this new
frontier of personal computing - and we all were having pioneer-type
problems. (We all "had arrows in our backs".) Nobody in our town knew the
answers to our problems, so we posted our questions on a BBS and hoped some
kind, experienced soul would post back an answer, or at least some clues.
Even some commiseration was more than we could get from our non-computer
friends.

To compress 25 years of progress in online help systems, let's jump ahead to
the mid-1990s, when the Internet got going good. Netscape and Outlook
Express gave us a way to contact News Servers and the Usenet. These were
very much like the old BBSes. Many were public; some were - and still are -
run by companies like ATI and Creative Labs. Even the proprietary
newsgroups were primarily peer-to-peer - just users helping each other. The
Microsoft public news server got going along with the first public IE/OE in
Win95.

My personal experience was a more-or-less seamless migration to the
newsgroups. As in the BBS and the Forums on CompuServe, I spent a lot of
time "lurking" - just "reading over the shoulders" of the other posters.
Now and then I would post a question of my own, or post an answer (a good
one, I hoped) or a comment to an existing thread. I subscribed to a dozen
or more newsgroups, including several on this MS public server.

A couple of years ago, an MS employee sent me an email inviting me to become
a Microsoft MVP. He said they had noticed that I had been posting messages
for a long time, and that most of the messages were accurate and helpful.
At first, I demurred. I said I had 3 worries: that my posts would carry
more weight than they deserved, since there was no examination or other
qualification process involved; that it might seem that I was speaking FOR
Microsoft, which I certainly am not; and that I would be committed to more
time than I was willing to spend. He assured me that I could qualify my
remarks to indicate the limits on my expertise, that I was free to speak my
own mind and to criticize MS when I felt it advisable, and that I was not
committed to any specific participation level. In other words, the MVP
award was appreciation for my past partiticipation, with the hope - but not
any obligation - to continue doing what I would probably do anyhow.

So, I accepted the award. For a while, I did not add MVP to my Sig, for the
reasons I just mentioned. Now, I do include the MVP designation. The
program has gained respect, thanks to the MVPs who came before me - and the
new ones being added each year. I was most impressed at the MVP Summit in
Seattle in February, 2003. Of about 1300 MVPs worldwide, half of them were
there, and half of the attendees were from outside the USA. What a
worldwide community this is! And MS executives (from Bill and Steve on
down) participated and often said Thank You to us. Now I'm proud and happy
to identify myself as a Microsoft MVP. ;<)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP

"Fred Hoffman" > wrote in message
...
> What does the designation "mvps.org" or "MS-MVP" mean in
> the address of a respondent to a newsgroup posting?