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Important Announcement Important Announcement
The MSN Groups service will close in February 2009. You can move your group to Multiply, MSN’s partner for online groups. Learn More
à Gãthèriñg iñ thè Pãlãcé GárdéñContains "mature" content, but not necessarily adult.[email protected] 
  
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 Message 1 of 4 in Discussion 
From: MSN Nicknameﺼﺸ§hìftìñgWìñdﻌﺼ  (Original Message)Sent: 10/16/2008 10:31 PM
Well some sad news today.  Ringo Starr has announced that he will no longer respond to fan inquiries or requests, via E mail or regular mail.  Ironically, MSN has officially announced that they will be discontinuing its Groups/Comms feature as of February 21, 2009.
 
As it did when MSN discontinued Adult Groups, an alternative “host site�?for current MSN groups is being offered.  The name of this site is Multiply.  I have joined and toured it.  In its present format I can say that it is a pretty stale place and cannot compare to several other blog sites I have seen.  For those of you who remember the profile/blogs that Phriek offered but did not follow through with, I can tell you that Multipy doesn’t come close.
 
The major issues and questions at this point is:
 
Will the Windows Live groups format, which has not yet been launched, allow users to build pages with the ease and creativity that the MSN Groups do?
 
Will the Multiply site be making adjustments to incorporate the page building features that currently exist in MSN groups?
 
The following is a statement from an MSN Groups Technical Support person:
 
Many users are asking why we are closing MSN Groups.  We want to provide our customers with the most current and user-friendly technology available today and we made the difficult decision to close the MSN Groups service as part of our overall investment in updating and re-aligning our online services with Windows Live. In the long term we believe that closing the service is the best way to continue to offer innovative, best of breed services that help you stay in touch with the people you care about.  It is very important to us that you still have access to your group and its data and that is why we have partnered with Multiply, so you can keep your group going into the future despite the closure of MSN Groups.
 
Obviously this can be interpreted in a variety of ways.  Based on the same expressed intentions when MSN closed Adult Groups but “partnered�?with World Groups to transfer them there, I’d say I have My doubts.  While World Groups is the closest thing to MSN groups I have come across, it has never equaled the ease of use nor the creative features of MSN Groups.
 
Keep in mind that World Groups did not offer anything close to MSN prior to partnering with them.  They created the Group format after striking the deal with MSN.  It may be the same in this case with Multiply, where they are creating a format that supports the MSN technology.  We cannot know until a group has been “migrated�?from MSN to Multiply.  At this time however, I see nothing of the sort.  Wait and see is all we can do.
 
Of course the other ray of hope is that the new Windows Live Groups will incorporate the same technology for page building that we are familiar with.  The problem is that as the comms and pages now exist, they will not be able to automatically migrate from MSN to Windows Live Groups.  This could be interpreted to mean that they have no plans to contain the same page building features.
 
If all people are interested in is maintaining a blog site, then I suggest there are several better alternatives to what I have seen in the existing Multiply site.
 
Until an MSN Group is migrated over to Multiply, how complete and intact an existing MSN group migrates in this process is a big question.  I have a plan that I will be asking your help with in order to test it out when they say the migration process will be up and running.  Watch this space for it.
 
At the very least, if you have submitted posts to any MSN Comm that you would like to keep, I strongly suggest you begin to locate them and copy them.
 
I will be in consultation with Chase from Xtitude.com to identify a new host site that will, at the very least, permit the closest replication of the MSN Groups Messages feature so the submissions of poetry, stories, and discussions can continue with a similar level of ease.
 
I believe I have a solution to save any existing pages/back grounds you have already created to World Groups if people are interested.  Once again, due to other priorities, I will have to post this at a later time.


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 Message 2 of 4 in Discussion 
From: MSN Nicknameﺼﺸ§hìftìñgWìñdﻌﺼSent: 10/17/2008 1:51 PM
Since placing My first post here regarding the closing of MSN Groups I have been overwhelmed with questions and commentary in the chat room, via E mail, and in IM.  As with the closing of MSN Adult Groups and the migration to World Groups there is a maelstrom of discussion, some helpful and a lot that simply is useless.  Now that I think about it, this actually reflects the way a lot of MSN groups operate anyway so why expect something different.
 
First of all, there is a lot of incorrect information being shared.  Of course most of us are aware of the sanctity of everyone’s right to an opinion.  This is a clear example, however, of how everyone’s opinion is not based on the substance of reality and therefore is not worth very much.
 
Those individuals who are insisting that there is no actual proof of MSN Groups closing and suggest that it is a possible hoax obviously have not contacted MSN Groups Technical Support to either rule out or confirm the alleged hoax.  I can confirm that if you do you will then receive official confirmation of the intention to close MSN Groups as we have known them.
 
An outdated response from MSN to someone is being circulated as proof that MSN is not considering closing its Groups services.  This is an old response from MSN given months ago while still testing the Beta version of Live Spaces Groups.  MSN learned some good lessons from their fiasco with Adult groups and the transfer to World Groups.  Techno savvy folks were able to penetrate the MSN Beta Testing area and the deletion of Adult Groups and transfer to World Groups was made public long before MSN was ready to announce it.  This time around they have proceeded with far more security and fewer leaks.
 
Chase from Xitude was able to look into the Beta site for Multiply.  Although the content could not be viewed, He was able to confirm that it is not set up to transfer the existing MSN Groups intact as they are now.  Furthermore, he confirmed that this is more of a blog site than a community setting.  As was the case with World Groups, they may be constructing new parts to the site to accommodate the MSN features so we are giving them the benefit of the doubt for now in the face of mounting evidence that it will not.
 
I will say that there is a growing and overwhelming negative response by a large number of people, outside of this community, who have visited the Multiply site.
 
I am building a test site Comm to migrate into Multiply which will confirm that this is accurate.  I will want those of you who can to join, upload BG images and build a page or two over the weekend.  We should also post in the message boards.  I am opening a Hotmail account to act as the manager so that giving the addy and password does not pose a problem.  This way we will know for certain just what might be lost in the migration from MSN to Multiply.   I will then submit it for the migration next week when it is operational.  Any questions will be resolved and we can move forward confidently.
 
Chase from Xitude is compiling a list of sites to use as an alternative to Multiply as well as the possible construction of a site that will replicate the MSN style message boards. 
 
World Groups remains as an alternative for those whose interest is in page building.  They do have sites that are Mature rather than Adult rated.  Dee is checking into the WG page making tools.  It might be that they have been upgraded to the standards and ease of MSN as was expected when Adult Groups were moved there.
 
One final note that I will keep repeating �? If there is anything you have posted in an MSN Comm that has value to you, copy it and save it.  MSN Groups are being closed down as of February 2009.  It is a fact that has been verified empirically and officially.  Any assertions otherwise are absurd.
 
 
 

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 Message 3 of 4 in Discussion 
From: MSN Nicknameﺼﺸ§hìftìñgWìñdﻌﺼSent: 10/19/2008 11:19 PM

The Test Comm has been constructed and several folks have joined.  Everyone has been and will be made an Assistant Manager in order to be able to use all the features.  I am asking that you upload images into a folder of your own and use them to build a page that will show in the left column.  DO NOT hide or indent the page.  Secondly, please copy the page and paste it in a new thread of your own in the Message board.  We are trying to simulate a regular Comm that can be used as a test of the migration process before anyone allows Multiply to migrate one of their personal Comms. 
 
By doing it this way we will find out what does and does not migrate and how it sets up in Multiply if it does.  For example, it is being said that custom pages like ours will be turned into a blog post in Multiply.  Of course that might mean they turn it into a thumbnail.  If it does work at least it will provide a record of our pages to refer to if rebuilding them in the future.
 
Several folks who have visited Multiply have raised concerns over privacy issues.  Before I apply this Comm for the migration process I will change everyone back to being a member and use a hotmail account as the owner Manager.  This is because they require both the E mail address AND its password to migrate a group.  Moreover, it has been noted that personal information such as ISP, location of residence, etc. is showing up when going into existing Multiply Groups.
 
Hindsight is 20/20 and having gone through a similar process with World Groups helps us to plan.  Rather than counting on MSN and Multiply to follow through with all they say I think it best to see what they actually do before migrating a Comm.  For those who went through it before you remember how so many things never transferred or were distorted in the process.
 
The one thing that worked just fine with World Groups was the transfer of the message boards and still seem to be the closest thing to MSN’s Message Boards than anything else I have seen.  teaz and I have been putzing in World groups and discovered some things we will share by the end of the week.  I do intend to copy and paste all the messages from the MSN Gathering to the WG Gathering simply to preserve it all.
 
It may end up that we have 2 Comms in the future �?one that supports the page building and one that provides the best Message Board alternative.  As several of us keep discovering, it seems that the blog style site is a trend and does not lend itself well to the preferences of those who have enjoyed MSN community style Message Boards.
 
Please do not post anything here from the Community Managers site.  While I appreciate the good intentions of others it becomes cumbersome as I have been a member of that site for several years and have read everything being said in there.  It is a very reliable site as they proved during the MSN deletion and migration of Adult Groups.  Many people seem to have discovered it in the midst of this latest fiasco.  Once again I appreciate all the helpful efforts people are investing, however, 4 people took up a lot of valuable time today in chat expounding on all they knew after going to Community Managers.  Thank you but we know all that already.  Furthermore we share information with others who are seeking solutions.  Rest assured that the best alternatives for both page building and Message Boards will be ascertained.
 
COPY and SAVE anything in your Comms
that is of value to you!!! 

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 Message 4 of 4 in Discussion 
From: MSN Nicknameﺼﺸ§hìftìñgWìñdﻌﺼSent: 10/23/2008 9:54 PM
The following announcement appears at the top of the pages in all My MSN Groups
 
Important Announcement
The MSN Groups service will close in February 2009.  You can move your group to Multiply, MSN’s partner for online groups. Learn More
 
I think it would be safe to say that this now makes it official.  I’d also caution you all to remember how during the Migration period with Adult groups from MSN to World Groups we were not always able to open pages in general or in the Edit mode.  I strongly suggest that you copy, save, rebuild anything you want to preserve long before February.  Also note that the hard date of February 21st, 2009 that was mentioned in MSN’s earlier statement has now become a “soft�?February, 2009 in this announcement.
 
Kudos for teaz who has dug into investigating a number of alternatives.  I had a problem replicating the same clarity and size of some BG images stored in MSN when I uploaded them to WG and took the URL from there.  The images came out from kinda blurred to totally distorted.  What teaz tested and discovered is that the more detailed and intricate images can be uploaded to PhotoBucket and do not appear to be blurred or distorted when you use the URL from there to rebuild a page on MSN.
 
I have tried it Myself with several and must say that I cannot see a difference from the PhotoBucket images compared to the MSN images.  I have now rebuilt 2 complete back grounds using the Photobucket URLs and they look great both on MSN and when copied and pasted into a World Groups page.  Thanks for the help teaz!

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