where did everyone go?

[Max]

It's because thousands of people who been using newsgroups for

decades do not like the relatively clumsy and slow web forums

I think traffic will pick up over time, and hopefully well before
starved ex-regular ng responders fade away. Its true that its a bit
difficult to see the post threading over there, but MS' forum speeds
are no different from other sites, from my experience. The key current
point could still be posters' familiarity, and perhaps competition
from other 3rd party sites/forums siphoning off an extent of ex-ng
posters.

 

[Stephen Wolstenholme]

I think traffic will pick up over time, and hopefully well before
starved ex-regular ng responders fade away. Its true that its a bit
difficult to see the post threading over there, but MS' forum speeds
are no different from other sites, from my experience.

That's my whole point. All web forums are slow and clumsy relative to
NNTP newsgroups.

I use 220 newsgroups on nine different NNTP servers. With a good multi
server newsreader like Agent I can check every group in a few minutes.
It's just a press on the space bar to go to the next updated group.
Unchanged groups are not checked. If I used the web it would take all
day to check for changes on 220 forums.

Steve

 

[Gord Dibben]

Thanks Dave


Gord

I think with the implementation of the forums, most of the regulars will see a
reduced pace -- and not by choice.

Whatever you decide, congrats on the last 10 years!

 

[Bruce Sinclair]

That's my whole point. All web forums are slow and clumsy relative to
NNTP newsgroups.
I use 220 newsgroups on nine different NNTP servers. With a good multi
server newsreader like Agent I can check every group in a few minutes.
It's just a press on the space bar to go to the next updated group.
Unchanged groups are not checked. If I used the web it would take all
day to check for changes on 220 forums.

Agreed. So what part of this don't MS get ? Or (as I suspect) do they simply
want control over their help functions and everything else (like speed and
ease of use) becomes secondary ?
For me, speed and ease of use are the first things I look for - pretty much
all s/w does the job these days. I used google groups to read news for about
6 minutes before giving up in disgust. I used a forum once ... and it was so
ugly, so slow and so antiintuitive that I'll never do it again.

 

[Steve Hayes]

That's my whole point. All web forums are slow and clumsy relative to
NNTP newsgroups.

I use 220 newsgroups on nine different NNTP servers. With a good multi
server newsreader like Agent I can check every group in a few minutes.
It's just a press on the space bar to go to the next updated group.
Unchanged groups are not checked. If I used the web it would take all
day to check for changes on 220 forums.

Exactly. That's why Microsoft's decision to move to web forums is a retrograde
step.

I've sometimes asked for help on Web forums, and never received an answer, not
because no one has answered, but because I have forgotten where I asked.

One member of another newsgroup had the bright idea of moving to Facebook, and
a lot of others followed. I simply can't keep track of the discussion because
on the rare occasions that I look at Facebook, I rarely remember to look at
that group, and get sidetracked. Newsgroups come to me -- I don't have to go
looking for them.