In addition to the official statement from a Microsoft representative who joined CF to confirm (please see our What's New page for her statement), MSN Groups Contact is also giving confirmation to the impending closure of MSN groups.  The SRX ID numbers vary, but if you contact MSN Groups support via the Feedback  link at the bottom of any groups page, you will get a response like the following:

 

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Thank you for writing to MSN Groups Technical Support. My name is Nadia and I understand that you want to know if it is true that MSN Groups are closing down and moving to Multiply. I realize the importance of addressing this matter.
 
Kari, it is true that we are planning to close the MSN Groups service on February 21, 2009 and will offer you the opportunity to move your group to our new partner service, Multiply.  We want you to be able to keep your group together, so we partnered with Multiply to create a migration process that moves your group to their service to preserve your online community and its history. 
 
The migration method that Multiply has built for you will be ready next week.  Once the service is ready we will send all of our users an email and will post notices within the MSN Groups site with more information, including instructions for beginning the migration process.  In the meantime you can visit http://Multiply.com to get to know the service and see some of the thousands of groups they host already. 
 
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.
 
Between today and February 21, 2009 nothing will change about the MSN Groups service except that we will remove the option to add more storage to your group. Other features will remain until the service is shut down and you can use it the same way you do today until the date of closure.  Watch the site and your email inbox over the next week as we will post updated information there, including a more detailed outline of your options and next steps. 
 
We appreciate your continued support as we strive to provide you with the highest quality service available. Thank you for using MSN Groups.
 
Sincerely,
Nadia
MSN Groups Technical Support

 

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We realize this isn't something we want, but efforts now should be geared towards backing up your present group's content and exploring other options.  Since Windows Live groups have not launched yet and the beta is being guarded like Fort Knox, we don't have much to tell you other than the peek we got last year seems to indicate it's more of a blog-type social networking effort that will be integrated into Live Spaces.

 

We encourage you to go to multiply.com and take the tour.  See what the site has to offer.  If you have questions, contact them directly for answers.  In the meantime, we're compiling a list of alternatives (please see this:  MSN Groups alternatives request) and would appreciate your input, via email (not on the boards, please) towards that end.  When we have a list composed, we will post it for our members, so you can check out what is available out there.

 

We will also be starting another thread allowing our members to speak to MSN/Microsoft about what groups mean to them and how the closure will impact them.  It may not make any difference in the grand scheme of things, but may give the powers that be pause for thought.  We ask that you please refrain from bashing Microsoft/MSN or using "salty" language to make your points (if you do, your posts will be removed) and instead, have your say with dignity and intelligence, which will make much more of an impression that an obscenity laced diatribe.

 

Finally, we'd like to thank our members for their loyalty over the years.  Managing a group this size is not an easy task and requires a huge committment of time and energy.  For the past several months, we're proud to say this has become much easier and all of this is due to our terrific membership.  We hope that everyone will be joining us at our home on the web, www.cfontheweb.com.