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Help about the Web-based Newsreader
Getting started with the Web-based Newsreader
About the Web-based Newsreader
About discussion groups
What happens when you post a message?
Get answers to your questions
Search for discussions
Sort threads in a discussion group
Post to a discussion group
About e-mail addresses and privacy
What's a display name?
How do I report an inappropriate post?
Keyboard shortcuts
Rules of conduct
Getting started with the Web-based Newsreader
Would you like to get answers to your questions directly from the world's leading technology experts? Interested in tips from power users or developers? Do you have tips you'd like to share with others? Then you've come to the right place. There is a lively community of computer users (at all levels of expertise and knowledge) who are taking advantage of the Internet to exchange ideas, information, knowledge, and expertise about Microsoft products and services. The Web-based Newsreader allows you to enter into discussion groups where people who are passionate about Microsoft technologies share their thoughts, help, support, and ideas.
If you are unfamiliar with the ins and outs of conversing with others over the Internet, don't worry. Once you take the plunge and join in, you'll find that working with discussion groups is not as difficult as you might think.
About the Web-based Newsreader
The Web-based Newsreader is a viewer you can use in your Web browser to read, post, search for, and reply to messages in discussion groups from the part of the Usenet that concerns Microsoft products and technologies (the Microsoft public discussions.)
The Web-based Newsreader has the following components:
TOC pane The left pane in the Web browser that contains a table of contents of the available discussion groups
Thread pane The top pane in the Web browser that contains all of the threads in a selected discussion group
Message pane The lower pane in the Web browser that displays the content of a selected post within a thread.
About discussion groups
A discussion group (also known as a newsgroup) is a place on the Internet where people interact by posting and reading messages about topics that are of interest to them and the rest of a community. Each discussion group contains a number of discussion threads, or a series of related messages. Each individual message either responds to an earlier message, or addresses the overall newsgroup topic in some way. In contrast to e-mail messages that are sent to specific individuals and visible only to them, messages posted in a discussion group are visible and available to anyone and everyone.
There are more than 100,000 discussion groups, and more are added all the time. Each discussion group covers a particular topic, often alluded to in its name. For example, people who use Microsoft Excel can visit and participate in Microsoft.public.excel.charting.
Microsoft created Microsoft public discussions covering many Microsoft products, technologies, and topics because of the value of finding out what your peers think and getting information from people who use the same products and technologies you use. The Microsoft public discussions have been available to anyone on the Usenet for a number of years. Thousands of Microsoft customers at all levels of expertise post in these groups today, creating the content, sharing information and contributing ideas.
What are Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs)?
MVPs are individuals from around the globe recognized by Microsoft for their demonstrated technical expertise and active participation in Microsoft peer-to-peer communities like newsgroups and message boards. These individuals represent a wide variety of backgrounds and professions, but they share the basic characteristics of having very strong technical skills in one or more Microsoft products or technology areas and the willingness to share that knowledge with others. MVPs are recognized for their past contributions to one or more online communities and many times are also prominent authors, developers, industry "gurus" or speakers. They are viewed by their peers and by Microsoft as credible experts who provide accurate technical answers while sharing a common passion for technology.
The enthusiasm of the MVPs combined with their positive contributions exemplifies the spirit of strong communities.
How Do I Use the Microsoft discussion groups?
Microsoft provides the Web-based Newsreader to make using discussion groups as easy as clicking on a Web page. The left side of the page provides a list of discussion groups and topics. After you select a discussion group, you can check out interesting posts, search the discussion group to find specific topics, answer a question, or post your own questions to the group.
All Microsoft discussion groups are available through either the Web-based newsreader or an NNTP newsreader, such as Outlook Express. Web-based newsreaders are popular for beginners, because you don't need to install or configure anything. A Web browser is all you need to access discussion groups.
Reading posted messages
Discussions are organized in threads, or collection of messages that reference each other. Each thread begins with the original post (a question or a comment) and can contain multiple replies. In the thread pane, a thread summary line displays the subject of the original post in a thread, the number of posts in the thread, and the date of the latest or most recent post in the thread. The thread summary consists of the original post and all replies. To view and read posted messages, you can do any of the following:
Click anywhere on a thread summary with a plus sign next to it to expand the thread, view all of the posted messages in the thread pane, and read the body of the first post in the message pane.
Click the name of an author in the thread pane to view their post in the message pane.
Click anywhere on a thread summary with a minus sign next to it to collapse the thread and view only the thread summary.
In the thread pane, you can also reply to a post, or start a new thread.
Discussion group terms
Cross-Post Sending a single post to more than one discussion group at the same time.
Discussion group (Also known as a newsgroup) A place on the Internet where people interact by posting and reading messages about topics that are of interest to them and the rest of a community. A discussion group is a particular group within the Usenet. In October 2000, there were more than 100,000 discussion groups.
NNTP "Network News Transport Protocol," the name of a protocol that controls the request and exchange of Usenet messages, and by extension, discussion group messages.
Post An individual message in a discussion group. Also, the act of sending an individual message to a server that will display it in the discussion group.
Spam The "junk mail" posts and worse that are sometimes posted to the Usenet.
Thread A collection of posts that reference each other. A thread is displayed in order of replies with the original post at the top and each reply indented and beneath the post to which it is replying. Each reply may be replied to as well.
Usenet The collection of all posts publicly distributed through NNTP.
What happens when you post a message?
Warning Credit card numbers, product keys, and other confidential information, including anything covered under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), should not be posted to a discussion group.
To compose a new message or reply to a post, click New or Reply in the thread pane. In the form that appears, you enter your display name, the subject, and your message. The currently selected discussion group is displayed in the In discussion group box, and you can choose whether or not to show your e-mail address. Once you enter information in these fields, complete your message, and click the Send button, your message is processed and permanently posted to the discussion group.
Note It is important to carefully review all of the information you enter in the New thread or Reply forms, because when you click Send, there is no way to deleted or revise your message. Your message appears in the discussion group with all of the information just as you entered it when you composed the message. Please keep in mind that discussion groups are public, so don't post anything that you don't want the world to see.
Get answers to your questions
Search for discussions
There are many different ways to find the answers or discussions you want. If you just want to see what types of discussions are available, you may want to browse to become familiar with the discussion groups. Or you may want to sort the threads in a discussion group to see the threads in a different order. If you are after specific information, you can search discussion groups for a specific post.
Browse
The table of contents is on the left side of your Web browser and lists topics by product or technology. Clicking the discussion group name will open the discussion and display the conversation threads posted to this newsgroup.
Sort threads in a discussion group
To change the order of threads in a discussion group, you can sort threads by descending date according to the date of the first post in the thread, or according to the date of the last (most recent) post in the thread. The sorted list of threads appears in the thread pane, with all of the threads collapsed.
To sort threads according to the date of the first post in the thread, click newest threads at the top of the thread pane.
To sort threads according to the date of the most recent post in the thread, click newest posts at the top of the thread pane.
Search for a specific post
You can search discussion groups for specific posts using one or more keywords including names of people. Search looks for these keywords in the By field (contains the name of the author or their email address), the Subject field, and the message body of the post. Posts that match your criteria are displayed in the Search Results pane, within the discussion threads that they are part of.
To begin your search, do the following:
Type your keywords in the Search box.
Select the discussion groups you want to search in the in list.
By default, the current discussion group is displayed in the in list.
Click Go.
Tips
To open the discussion group that a message was posted to, select the message, and then click the name of the discussion group displayed in the In field in the message pane.
To return to the discussions you were viewing before you began your search, click the Back button in your Web browser.
Search for messages posted in a discussion group by a specific author
In the thread pane, select a message that the author has posted.
In the message pane next to the author's name, click search by author.
Tip To return to the discussions you were viewing before you began your search, click the Back button in your Web browser.
Note When you search for messages posted by a specific author, up to 100 messages posted by the author in any of the Microsoft public discussion groups are returned in the Search Results pane.
Post to a discussion group
If you don't find the answer to your question by searching in discussion groups, you can start a new thread on a topic in order to ask a question or start a discussion. Or, if you have an answer or have a comment about something you've read in a discussion group, you can reply to any post. Your reply appears below the post that you reply to.
Start a new thread
Open the discussion group in which you want to post.
Click New.
Type your display name.
Enter the information you want in the rest of the fields in the New thread form.
Review the text you typed in the Message field to make sure it says what you want; you cannot revise your message after you click Send.
Click Send.
Reply to a post (Post UI is "Post a reply")
In the thread pane, select the post you want to reply to.
Click Reply.
In the Reply form, type your display name in the Your display name box.
To include the message of the post you are replying to, click Include original.
In the Message box, type your reply.
Click Send.
Advanced options
To post in more than one discussion group, click Advanced Options, and then type the additional discussion groups you want to post to in the Cross-post to these discussion groups box.
About e-mail addresses and privacy
People who send unwanted bulk e-mail (spammers) regularly gather e-mail addresses from discussion groups. It is likely that if you use your actual, unmodified e-mail address in a discussion group, you will receive unwanted messages (spam) in your regular e-mail account. To help prevent spam in your regular e-mail account, you may not want to include your regular e-mail address when you post a question or reply to a post in a discussion group. Instead you may want to do one of the following:
Use an anonymous e-mail address By default, when you post a question or reply, the Don't show it option is selected under Your e-mail address in the New thread or Reply form. This option uses an anonymous address in your messages.
Use a modified e-mail address Use a different version of your e-mail address that others will understand, but that spam tools can't automatically pick up. For example, if your actual e-mail address is someone@example.com, use someone(removethis)@example.com as your modified e-mail address. In this case, the spam tools will send mail to an invalid e-mail address, and others will know to exclude the (removethis) when they send you e-mail. When you post a question or reply to a discussion group, select the Show it option under Your e-mail address in the New thread or Reply form, then enter your modified e-mail address in the Show it box.
Use a secondary e-mail account Set up or use an e-mail account, such as a Hotmail account, that is separate from your primary account for posting to discussion groups. When you post a question or reply to a discussion group, select the Show it option under Your e-mail address in the New thread or Reply form, then enter your hotmail account in the Show it box.
What's a display name?
Your display name is the name that you use when posting to a discussion group and indicates the author of a post. This name appears in the By field of any message you post. It is a good practice to use the same display name whenever you post so that other people can recognize you in the communities. The name you use can be your real name if you wish, but note that potentially millions of people will see it.
How do I report an inappropriate post?
To report an inappropriate post, click the Contact Us link at the bottom of the screen. This link opens a form that you can enter your feedback in, and send to Microsoft.
Keyboard shortcuts
Keys for navigating in the thread pane
Comma
Navigate to the previous post or thread
Period
Navigate to the next post or thread
ALT+X, ENTER
Expand all threads
ALT+C, ENTER
Collapse all threads
ALT+Z
Enter a page number (activates the Page box)
ALT+N, ENTER
Start a new thread (New button)
ALT+P, ENTER
Print the post as a printer friendly message
ALT+L, ENTER
Copy the URL (address) for this post to the Windows Clipboard
ALT+R, ENTER
Reply to a post (Reply button)
ALT+6
Enter search words (activates the Search box)
Rules of conduct
We hope that you find the time you spend in Microsoft's community Web sites to be useful and fun. To ensure that everyone has the best possible experience, we've established a few guidelines. Please take a moment to read them, and thank you for participating in a Microsoft community.
Expectations of service
Microsoft's Role: Microsoft does not offer formal support for the communities you'll find here. Instead, our role is to provide a platform for people who want to take advantage of the global community of Microsoft customers and product experts. Microsoft may monitor content to ensure the accuracy of the information you'll find, but any information provided by Microsoft staff is offered "AS IS" with no warranties, and no rights are conferred. You assume all risk for your use
Microsoft MVPs: Microsoft MVPs (Most Valuable Professionals) volunteer technical answers and expertise in many Microsoft community Web sites. Microsoft MVPs come from a wide range of backgrounds and professions. All share a willingness to give their time, expertise, and advice to enhance the technical skills of others. For more information on the MVP program and how you can become an MVP, see http://support.microsoft.com/support/mvp/.
Rules of conduct
Appropriate Language: The purpose of our communities is to exchange technical information and expertise about Microsoft products. Please avoid personal attacks, slurs, and profanity in your interactions.
Relevance to Topics: Please make sure that your postings in discussion groups and chats are relevant to the subject at hand. It is normal for some topics to drift from the stated subject. However, to ensure maximum benefit for everyone, we encourage you to keep your postings as close to the subject as possible.
Advertising/Solicitation: These communities were created as a forum for providing peer-to-peer assistance on Microsoft products and services. We ask that you refrain from posting advertisements or solicitations that do not pertain directly to the intended use and purpose of the newsgroup or chat.
Confidentiality: Please keep in mind that our communities are public spaces, so don't post anything that you don't want the world to see. Credit card numbers, product keys, and other confidential information, including anything covered under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), should not be posted to a discussion group, chat, or other community.
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