LadyBeast's Lair

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

ok all this is what i have found on 2 sites apparently MSN groups will be closing

i have the links to the posts that i have found

An e-mail snafu has led to the leak of Microsoft's decision to shutter its MSN Groups service, according to LiveSide.net. It's not a surprise, as MSN Groups was one of the last vestiges of Microsoft's Web services strategy pre-Windows Live.

MSN Groups will be closing on February 21, 2009. It'll be replaced with a new service, Windows Live Groups, which debuts on November 17.

Here's the catch: The LiveSide post indicates MSN Groups will not be migrating to Windows Live Groups; the new Windows Live service will be different enough so that the transition wouldn't be a clean one. Instead, the LiveSide post says that existing MSN Groups will transition to community site Multiply--in other words, Multiply is effectively acquiring MSN Groups from Microsoft.

Representatives from Multiply, which said earlier this month that it has reached 10 million registered users, confirmed the news. Microsoft representatives released a longer statement: "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 understand the importance of keeping 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.

This post was updated at 4:30 p.m. PT with comment from Microsoft.

there is the link to the forum as well

http://groups.msn.com/communityfeedback/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=1511308&LastModified=4675694099797470343

so i guess we wait and ride the lighting. i truely hope that this is just a scam but it feels to true to be one

Thanks for the warning Celtic, this is not good news. Guess all we can do it ride the storm and see what happens. Then again, you never know, these new groups might be an improvement over the MSN ones . Hopefully, if this happens, they will give us enough warning so we can get all the groups over to where we need to without losing any information or members. I have a feeling that this is not going to be fun.

I guess we just wait and see what happens until the new site opens up for us. Then maybe the managers can do a test site over at the new place to see what is going on. That way we could be covered on all fronts. Now I don't know how to really go about moving things or even opening up a site. Tori put me as manager here so I can change things here but the Goddess will provide. *S*

I've joined the multiply.com...and it's like a blogging site. you can post back and forth...add music, video's and an album..but it is way different than what msn is. In some ways..it's better, in other ways...I don't care for it at all! But..it is better than yahoo for groups....

It will take some getting used to over there..and I will set up a group there from here...never worry! I'm still getting used to the new lay of the land first...

Will it send stuff to your email box. I don't really care for the sittes that don't. I can't always access the internet to look around but I can always get a look at my email

I set mine to read on the web...now I can't quite recall how I did that, lol. I don't want individual emails...

Once I have the pic of Tori I'll put it up..as the group is in her name...

CF has warned not to give personal info to mutiply.com I'll run over and see what they say, guys we have a few months lets not panic ok I just saw this in another group and ran over here to see if you all got wind of it be back later ;)

I just got this from CF msn group, they still warn not to use the migration tool to Multiply as they think that once migration is done you won't be able to get back here again, they are coming up with a list of community sites that may be better or at least as close to the msn setup that we all are use to, and again we have a few months no sence in juming the gun yet, .......managers if you want to discuss some options or throw around some idea's let me know

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:

****************************************************

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

*************************************************

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.

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
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