This
is the place where people start searching
for solutions before approaching
Microsoft technical support. Microsoft
has created public newsgroups, which are
accessible to everybody. Here you can see
novices as well as experienced people
asking questions as well as solving
problems.
MVPs (Most Valuable Professionals) play a
very important role in these newsgroups.
These are the people who are recognized
for their contribution in the newsgroups
in terms of solving people's problems. If
you are interested in becoming an MVP,
keep cracking the issues consistently in
these Microsoft newsgroups and check out Microsoft Most
Valuable Professional Brochure
for more information. Also checkout http://www.mvps.org
for information
You can access newsgroups by using a news
client. The most popular newsgroup
clients are Outlook Express which ships
with Internet Explorer 4.0+ and Netscape
Messenger. Older versions of IE used to
come with a newsreader too.
To access Microsoft public newsgroups
using Outlook Express follow the
instructions below:
- Open Outlook
Express from Start -> Programs
-> Internet Explorer ->
Outlook Express.
- Select Accounts from Tools
menu.
- Click on Add button and select
News from the popup menu.
- Type in all requested
information. You have to type the
Newsgroup (NNTP) Server name as
msnews.microsoft.com.
- Click Finish and you will be
asked to chose the specific
product newsgroups. Just double
click on a specific newsgroup to
subscribe to it |
To access
Microsoft public newsgroups using
Netscape Messenger follow the
instructions below:
- Open Netscape
Communicator.
- Select Newsgroups from
Communicator menu. A newsgroup
reader will open up.
- Select Preferences from Edit
menu.
- On the left hand pane, expand
the tree titled 'Mail &
Newsgroups' and select 'Newsgroup
Servers' and on the right hand
pane click on Add.
- Type in all requested
information. You have to type the
Newsgroup (NNTP) Server name as
msnews.microsoft.com. |
All the posts
from these newsgroups are archived at Dejanews.
Here you can browse through all old
posts. Microsoft also has localized
newsgroups in different international
languages.
One major problem with newsgroups is,
SPAMming!!! Lot of Internet companies get
hold of your email address from these
newsgroups and keep spamming you with all
kinds of offers and promotions. It's too
annoying. So, people use different tricks
to protect their privacy. It's
recommended that you should not to use
your primary email address in newsgroups.
Another annoying
thing is, messages in HTML format! These
HTML posts are capable of redirecting
visitors to specific web sites. Always
post messages in plain text and
discourage HTML posting unless it is
absolutely needed.
Any person with
any level of knowledge can provide a
solution in newgroups. So, be careful
while trying out solutions posted here.
This is all I
have to tell you about newsgroups for
now! Make use of these newsgroups and
save your money and time! Good luck!
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