Re: Word/Newsletter question

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

Top posting is very favourably looked on in THESE groups :-)

When you have to cover a large number of groups and try to get through
hundreds of questions in the short amount of time one has between going to
work and having a life, not having to scroll to read the latest information
is deeply, deeply appreciated.

As with any other topic, "Help" groups flow in cycles: right now we have the
roll-out of OS 10.5 making things pretty intense across the Mac-focussed
groups, at the same time as Office 2003 SP3 is stuffing things up on the
Windows side. So we're pretty busy!

Top posting is deeply appreciated. To the point where I often don't take
the time to scroll at all. I run down the group looking in the Preview
pane: if the new information doesn't appear there, it has to be a pretty
quiet day before I will actually scroll the message to look for it. I'll
just skip the question...

But then, I am well known as a curmudgeon :-)

This is usually a much nicer place to be than Usenet, and I deeply
appreciate that fact. It would be so nice not to have the plonking,
PMS-ing, flaming, trolling and all the other noise that often drowns out the
signal entirely on Usenet find its way into these groups.

Some Microsoft groups have become a total information desert due to the
activities of the Usenet equivalent of street gangs. Sensible people no
longer go there. I think of "~.vista.general" as an example.

To the point where it is more likely than not that Microsoft will move this
activity completely into Web Communities that require a verified
authenticated login to post to them.

Obviously that would cause deep pain to those of us who find NNTP far
preferable as an interface. I, myself, have been in Usenet since before the
Web existed, and I would find going to HTML-based communities a real pain.

However, if we look at things from Microsoft's point of view, that may be
the only option they have left. Microsoft wants to maintain a place where
ALL users, even the illiterate and the clueless, will receive a warm
welcome, supportive encouragement, and accurate, expert, correct advice.

This is their house. It runs on their servers. It is NOT part of Usenet ?
the Usenet interface is just a replication, the main game is "over there".
If we can't (or WON'T) house-train ourselves, we will no longer be invited
to the party. If we persist in urinating in the pot-plants, stubbing
cigarettes out in each others faces and throwing up on the sofa, they're
simply going to put a lock on the door and we won't get in.

They can simply flip the bit that says "Enable the NNTP read/write
interface" and this entire microsoft.public.~ nest of groups will just be
abandoned, hung out to die.

If you scan the posts in here, you will find that more than 80 per cent of
them come from one of the web interfaces. The "real" home of these
"communities" is a vast server farm of SQL Server machines running in the
Microsoft Data Centre. Usenet is where it "started", but Microsoft and the
users looking for help have moved on.

They kindly provide the SQL Server with a read/write translator that makes
"most" of what goes on 'in there' available to us 'out here' in Usenet. But
the business case for continuing to do that is getting thinner and thinner.
The problems caused to, and the impact on, the Communities that Microsoft is
trying to build are getting greater and greater.

I know I am not alone in feeling that I personally would be very
disadvantaged if the Usenet replication went away.

But it might. There are now more voices against Usenet around the table
where this decision gets made, than there are for it. No, I do not sit at
that table, and neither does anyone else in here.

If we don't clean up our act ? if we *can't* stop embarrassing newbies ?
they'll simply turn the power off.

So the next time I dump on someone in here, would someone please remind me
that I said all this?? :-)

Cheers

On 4/11/07 3:21 PM, in article
jollyroger-DE18D9.23212503112007@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Jolly
Roger" <jollyroger@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In article <C35294FE.144E0%diane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Diane <diane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 11/3/07 10:44 AM, in article
jollyroger-4B7FDD.12442203112007@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Jolly
Roger" <jollyroger@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:


You're on a Mac, so you may want to take a look at Unison,
MT-NewsWatcher, or one of the many other Usenet clients listed on the
popular Mac software tracking web sites such as:

Why not use Entourage to read this newsgroup? Directions on using Entourage
to access the Microsoft newsgroups can be found here:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/support_options/subnews.html>

Included you'll find how to set up a no spam account for posting.

Note: Entourage is not a robust newsgroup client, but it does work well for
this group and getting help with any Office product.

If you are a big newsgroup user then I would recommend looking at other
third party products like Unison.

Oh I don't see anything wrong with Entourage as a simple newsgroup
client. It does function well for that - well, in some respects it could
use improvement. I just personally prefer other clients.

On the other hand, I do think it's more likely that people using
Entourage will forget that top posting isn't as appropriate for Usenet -
simply because it's the program they use for email, where top posting is
acceptable.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:john@xxxxxxxxxxx

.

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