There is an email going around written by Dolores that was sent out in '07 when a rumor hit MSN groups about merging the groups with Live Groups. However, some members of groups are saying that because of this letter this MSN merging with Multiply is a hoax. You can google for information on this. Multiply is who they are currently "partners" with, and within the next week group migration should be open on Multiply.
Below is the email response I have recieved today after submitting my question via feedback. As you can see, this is a real Customer Support Email b/c it features the SRX number, along with the date it was recieved.
The bold are parts of the letter that I find interesting.
From: Microsoft Customer Support
Date: 10/16/2008 4:13:33 PM
To: <Email Removed>
Subject: RE: SRX1081960812ID - MSN Groups:Other
Hello Nicole,
Thank you for writing to MSN Groups Technical Support. My name is Zaida. I understand that you want to know if it is true that MSN Groups will be closing on February 2009. I realize the importance of addressing this matter.
Nicole, 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,
Zaida
MSN Groups Technical Support
In the meantime, I would suggest to not panic. Do these things:
- Let your members know that MSN groups might be closing. Do not cause a panic however.
- Decide what and where you want to go and do with your group
- Backup your group. This includes saving ALL important photos and messages.
- Pay attention to the groups homepage for any information that MSN may post.
- Enjoy your group like normal. They are not closing down until Feb. 21 and you will still have access to everything, except being able to upgrade your storage.
According to some sources, MSN groups will remain open until Feb. 21, 2009. Everything will remain the same with the exception of being able to upgrade and get more storage. So continue to enjoy groups like normal until then.
As to why MSN did not let us know, it is possibly that they are not ready to announce it to the public yet. I remember when the Adult Groups were going over to WG, and MSN denied CF's discovery about it. With that being the case, I would still do the above things. According to the letter that I have recieved, MSN will be sending an email and posting on the group's homepage soon about this.
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