Reflection on the newsgroups and final farewell

Thanks Jonathan,

For all your help long time ago. Started with port-forwarding
stuff till badly working Upnp modems.
I will always remember the good time on this NG.

heian

"Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote:

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!
--


The group is gone now from msnews.microsoft.com, but Astraweb still has it.

Still works here, assuming this goes through...

--
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 - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
Into the abyss?
--

"Moldy Cheese" wrote in message ...

The group is gone now from msnews.microsoft.com, but Astraweb still has it.

--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

"Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote in message ...
Still works here, assuming this goes through...

--
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 - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
Into the abyss?

On 5/31/2010 8:03 PM, Jonathan Kay [MVP] wrote:
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,

i have been an infrequent user, but whenever i have been in need you
have always been there to help... it has been tremendously appreciated

many thanks...

Godspeed on your new journeys in life...

sean





--
We all time-share the same atoms.
~ Lily Tomlin's Trudy the Bag Lady

** taglines brought to you by tagzilla 0.066.2

Jonathan,
I echo Sean, we always appreciated your assistance. We wish you perfect
health and obsolute prosperity.
LuC


"sean nathan bean" wrote in message
...
On 5/31/2010 8:03 PM, Jonathan Kay [MVP] wrote:
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,

i have been an infrequent user, but whenever i have been in need you have
always been there to help... it has been tremendously appreciated

many thanks...

Godspeed on your new journeys in life...

sean





--
We all time-share the same atoms.
~ Lily Tomlin's Trudy the Bag Lady

** taglines brought to you by tagzilla 0.066.2

Originally Posted by oppiman

All I have to say is:
Thank you!

I am new here and going through this forum but let me tell you its really fun being here i am gettinh lot of info thanks a lot

Jonathan -

You have always been an inspiration to me and your posts have been
invaluable as a source of information. Your work here has been amazing!

Doris