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WG Information : New Alternative Comm site
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 Message 1 of 3 in Discussion 
From: MSN Nicknameﺼﺸ§hìftìñgWìñdﻌﺼ  (Original Message)Sent: 11/5/2008 8:56 AM
We have discovered another alternative site for MSN Groups.  It is called Aimoo and appears to be far more compatible than Yuku and others that have been explored.
 
The Message Boards (called Categories) have an appealing look, are easily readable, user friendly for posting, and you can post siggies or MSN style pages in them. 
 
teaz stuck her neck out and applied to have her group transferred over from MSN to Aimoo.  I must say the results were undeniably better than expected after going through the migration of the Adult Groups from MSN to the alternative site.
 
After your Group has been transferred into the Aimoo site, it looks identical to your MSN site when you look at.
 
The entire contents of the Message Boards transferred without any problems.  This is good news for the owners who value the integrity and historical factors of your Comms as well as the contributions made by your members, without whom your Comms would be pretty lonely and empty.
 
The message boards are accessible just as they are in MSN, for viewing only.  No new posts can be made within transferred Message Boards.
 
All of the picture albums transferred intact and complete.  They can be accessed just as if they were in the MSN site.  I was able to access the URLs of images (via Properties as with MSN).  I was only able to do so with the thumbnails, which is My preference anyway, but got rectangles with the dreaded red X when trying to access the enlarged image.
 
The URLs for images were automatically changed to a new URL originating from the Aimoo site.  This is good news for several reasons.  It means that Pages you have already built should remain fully visible once MSN shuts down their Groups completely.  Moreover, if testing proves positive with using Aimoo image URLs for building a page, the transfer provides a lot of FREE storage and it would be worth filling your MSN Comm with background images before transferring
 
The Aimoo site reminds Me a lot of the new profiles Phriek offered for awhile as far as being able to make them look unique.  The process is similar as well.  It may seem difficult at first, but so did the Phriek profiles.  You can use pre-made skins provided by Aimoo or you can use your own background images to create a new look.
 
Many thanks to teaz for her hard work and willingness to help Me. Maybe teaz will add a link to hers so you can all see it. Take a look at a test Comm I started:
 
 
Very Important
If you plan to transfer an MSN Comm to Aimoo:
 
Change the status of your Comm to Public
 
If you don’t, your Comm will not be transferred
 
Unindent all Indented pages so they show in the left column and Unhide any Hidden pages so they show in the left column
 
If you don’t, these pages will not be transferred.
 


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 Message 2 of 3 in Discussion 
From: MSN Nicknameteaz2plzzzSent: 11/10/2008 11:21 PM

Ok as many of you may know Shifting Wind Sir has found a really awesome forum home for us that is fully customizable. While you can and will achieve good results through trial and error, a few lessons never hurt.

To that end I am offering my first forum at Aimoo for the purpose of building tutorials and asking questions. It will belong to all of us and any and all help would be much appreciated. If you have a skill to share or knowledge to impart this would be the place . You do not need to be a member to use the tutorials or even post. To add categories you will need administrative abilities. It is up to you and what you feel able and willing to contribute time wise.

http://forum2.aimoo.com/teazins


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 Message 3 of 3 in Discussion 
From: MSN Nicknameﺼﺸ§hìftìñgWìñdﻌﺼSent: 11/24/2008 2:03 PM
I know it has been awhile since I did an update on the Comm issue and that is because I have been busy, along with teaz, working on and learning more about the Aimoo site.  If I have not made it clear by now let me do so now.  I do plan to move this Comm to Aimoo.  Every member who has made a contribution here deserves to know why I have made this choice and I would like to share my reasons with you.
 
Aimoo has been around since 2000.  I have had an account on Aimoo since 2005.  During that time I have seen it consistently evolve into what seems at this point to be the best alternative of all the other sites I have investigated for the MSN Comms.  Since MSN announced that it was closing Groups in February of 2009, I have watched Aimoo add new features and modify existing features to better accommodate the influx of folks who have chosen to move their MSN groups to this site.  The support they provide is far beyond that which MSN or other sites have provided. 
 
Some folks have suggested or asked why not other sites that they have heard of.  The two most widely mentioned are Multiply, MSN’s official alternative site and Yuku.  Both of these sites have been explored and reviewed thoroughly.  Aside from their compatability with MSN groups, both sites have performed poorly with the transfer process.  Having gone through this process with the transition of Adult Groups from MSN to World Groups this is a priority for me.  
 
I have seen the results of Aimoo’s transfer process and it is excellent.  Every page, every message board, and all messages transfer intact and becomes an individual Category in the Aimoo site ..or what we would refer to as a thread in MSN. When you open the MSN Category/thread, you will think you are back on MSN looking at this Comm.  You will be able to look at all pages, open up all image folders, and see every post that is contained in the message boards of this Comm.  The outcome is that everything you see in this comm will be preserved and appear “as is�?when it transfers to Aimoo.  Those who went through the migration of MSN Adult Groups to WG can appreciate this.  The only downside is that nothing new can be added to the MSN section of the message board.
 
Aimoo offers a Message Board format like the MSN Groups we are all familiar with.  It is a message board format that is easy to use, manage, and accepts custom pages, pictures, and siggies.  Of all the alternative host sites I have reviewed, none provide the overall quality of these features that Aimoo does.
 
Some of the alternative host sites offer a blog format rather than the message board format.  This is true for the new LiveGroups MSN is offering and exactly why MSN has made it clear that the MSN Groups format is not compatible.  The differences between a blog format and the message board format are the way that messages are displayed.  In the message board, a thread is started and people are able to respond to it.  We are all aware how a certain topic can evoke numerous responses that can all be accommodated in a message board format.  The original post is at the top and responses follow in the order they are submitted.  The blog format does not provide this sort of organization nor the ease of use.  Moreover, it is limited in terms of how many and how large posts and responses can be.
 
The fact is, MSN has been planning and working on this change for quite some time now.  It has never been their plan to make the new LiveGroups even somewhat compatible with the existing MSN Groups format.  This is why they have come up with the plan to migrate groups to Multiply.  MSN simply does not want to provide the service any longer.  MSN has made a business decision in consideration of the success of My Spaces and other instant blogging sites.  From looking at the Beta modality I think it is safe to say that MSN LiveGroups is less of an option than even Multiply or Yuku appear to be at this time.
Security in Aimoo is phenomenal as well as practical.  You can keep it all completely private or you choose what you want to make available for public display.  If you want a group that is yours and yours alone with no other members it can be made so that no one can see anything if they happen to come across it.
 
I am convinced and confident that Aimoo offers the best alternative at this point.
 
I find it ironic that this Comm was set up simply to be a connection point for folks during the transition of MSN Adult Comms to World groups several years ago.  I never intended for it to become a place where the message boards would be active or that custom pages would be created.  I actually thought it would be a temporary site that would eventually be deleted after the migration to WG occurred.  It only took one person to post and suddenly the message boards came alive.  Discussions took place, information was shared, and all of a sudden I figured I should at least make a Welcome page.
 
It amazes Me as I go through the Comm, preparing it to be transferred (sometime in January is My target), how it has taken on a life of it’s own.  I realize how each individual who has made a contribution values what they as well as others have contributed.  Whether it is a topic presented for discussion or a response to it, a birthday greeting, get well wishes, instructions for page building, or just something to make others laugh, each of you has taken the time and put forth the effort to make it a “place�?to be enjoyed and valued.  For this reason, I have invested time and energy into selecting an alternative that will provide the preservation and continuity of this Comm, which Aimoo has demonstrated it can.
 
Over the next few weeks you will see new threads and pages added in here.  I am doing this to condense and preserve pages, posts, and articles I value from some of my other Comms that preceded this one.  As promised, I have located the posts regarding “bratting�?that I have mentioned during discussions in the chat room and YES I will be posting them in here.  I have many others as well as custom pages I will be adding here.  Anyone wishing to do the same simply let Me know so it can be coordinated.
No one who is a member in this Comm will be automatically transferred into the Aimoo comm.  You will have to apply.  In order to apply you will have to register for an Aimoo account (which is extremely easy).  Once you have an account and when the Group is ready, you will receive invitations to join.  Applying and being approved is just as easy as it is in MSN.

These points are repetitive because they are worth repeating and will be repeated throughout the transition period:
 
Aimoo transfers MSN Comms intact and completely as long as you change the status of your group to PUBLIC as well as unhide and un-indent all your pages.  Keep this in mind if you plan to transfer a Comm of your own.
 
I also suggest you load up images such as backgrounds or siggies before transferring because they will be accessible in Aimoo.  This is free storage and is nice to have available.
 
The URLs of all the images used in this Comm or yours are automatically modified to a new Aimoo based URL so that they are permanently visible after MSN close down the groups.  They can also be used in the future for page building.