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Old June 2nd 10, 12:36 AM posted to microsoft.public.msn.messenger,microsoft.public.windows.live.messenger,microsoft.public.windowsxp.messenger
Drew[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 89
Default Reflection on the newsgroups and final farewell


Thanks Jonathan you have been most helpful over the years both to myself and
countless others..

"Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote in message
...
Greetings,

On this eve of the end of these newsgroups, I thought I would do some
reflection on the newsgroups, myself and Messenger.

The first Messenger group was microsoft.public.windowsxp.messenger which
was intended for Windows Messenger in Windows XP (which at the time was
the same as MSN Messenger). When I arrived in the group in 2001, the only
one monitoring the posts was then NetMeeting MVP Brian Sullivan. I
quickly realized I was able to answer plenty of the questions asked and
moved in. A few years later Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger were
split into separate products and a microsoft.public.msn.messenger was
created for that new version of Messenger. Later on of course, MSN
Messenger was changed to Windows Live Messenger and the last and final
newsgroup microsoft.public.windows.live.messenger was born.

Unfortunately as the years have progressed, the newsgroups have had less
and less exposure and have all but been absent from Microsoft's official
support web pages. As a result, traffic has been slow compared to what it
used to be, but still steady for the past year or so.

For those who don't know, I have been a Microsoft MVP since 1998 and a
Messenger MVP since 2001. Interestingly, up until a year ago, I had a
perfect newsgroup record - that is, never missing a day of posts,
including weekends, holidays and small surgeries. As Microsoft's Netscan
service has been shut down for some time and Google and other web services
haven't processed the groups from the beginning, an exact post total isn't
available, but according to my Sent Items, I have posted around 50,000
posts in my 9 year messenger newsgroup career.

As for Messenger itself, the product remains the top instant messaging
client statistically, but some recent decisions both in the latest
iteration of the 2009 client and upcoming 2010 client have saddened me and
my impression of the product. Frankly Messenger has such potential to be
an amazing, indispensable, collaborative communication tool for work,
education and recreation. I do hope it reaches its true potential
someday.

Although I do wish that Microsoft would continue to delight us with their
own ideas, they really do need to listen to the feedback of their public
and Messenger community. This is an area that really needs improvement,
as situations such as the recent removal of Webcam really shows that
Microsoft doesn't grasp how their users actually use their product.
Additionally, there are plenty of features within the product that are in
dire need of updating, from message logging/history to the emoticon
picker.

As the full end of the Microsoft newsgroups draws nearer in the coming
months (the smaller groups like this one close sooner), it really is the
end of an era for me. As I first started frequenting the groups when I
was 14 (now 27, almost 28), losing the groups is like losing an old
friend. They will be missed.

So, anyone reading this, I bid you goodbye and wish you all the best. If
you need to contact me directly, my e-mail address attached to these posts
should continue to work, or you can head over to www.jonathankay.com or
www.messengergeek.com to find me. Please feel free to drop me a line and
say hello, I'd love to hear from you.

I was hoping to have some sort of alternative to the newsgroup by this
time, but there have only been a few weeks since the announcement of the
closure of the groups. The "new home" for Messenger support will be the
Windows Live Solution Center
(http://windowslivehelp.com/forums.aspx?productid=2), so I will be moving
there for the time being.

Finally, I'd like to thank those who supported and believed in me all
these years including Sherry Irwin, Corey Gouker, Dominic Hopton, Mark
Salloway, Jonathan Maltz, Tony Hynes, Jeri La May, Erwin Lips, John Furda,
Jeff Houston, Cyril Paciullo, Stephen Boots, Winston, Robear Dyer, any of
the other former and present MVPs I've missed, Menno, Mark Vos, and many,
many others.

Thanks for everything and see you on the flip side.

Farewell,
--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
(c) 2010 Jonathan Kay
Last day to go!
--



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