MSN Groups - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

MSN Groups was a website part of the MSN

MSN

MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...

network which hosted online communities

Online community

An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...

, and which contained Web pages, hosted images, and contained a message board. MSN Groups was shut down on February 21, 2009 as part of a migration of online applications and services to the Windows Live

Windows Live

Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...

brand, and later renovated as Windows Live Groups

Windows Live Groups

Windows Live Groups is an online service by Microsoft as part of its Windows Live range of services that enable users to create their social groups for sharing, discussion and coordination.-Features:...

History

Since 1991 there were various communities on MSN, all run by MSN, featuring real newsgroups and IRC chat rooms. They were not easily updatable as only MSN Communities staff members could update the one page that each "community" had. There was one for every generic interest. Around 1998-9, MSN created the home pages, which were real Web sites much like Tripod or Geocities. These had no message boards or chat rooms attached. MSN did away with these home pages around 2001-2, not too long after they introduced the Custom Pages and File cab (later referred to as Documents) in MSN Communities, which were later called Groups.

Besides the general content and community that many of these groups provided, they would compete for the top ten rankings. Some of the largest groups in the site, often rising to the number 1 spot, included Debate, Critical Thinking and Philosophy, The Meaning of Life, and others. (Needs others listed.)

The "make your own group" feature came along in summer of 1999, when MSN did away with the real newsgroups IRC chat rooms. Message boards, chat rooms, one customizable home page and photo albums were added. Gradually, the list pages, custom pages and documents pages were added. Some groups had icons displayed next to the name. Official groups by MSN had the MSN "butterfly", groups considered "cool" had "sunglasses", private groups had a "padlock" and Mature groups had the "smoking pipe". Previously, "Adult" groups had their own icon too.

In 2005, all "Adult" groups were transferred to the World Groups http://www.worldgroups.com web site. Creating or changing a group to "Adult" is no longer possible in MSN. The removal of all "Adult" groups was processed on November 28, 2005 http://www.betanews.com/article/MSN_To_Close_Adult_Mature_Groups/1127325856. On October 16, 2006, the chats on every MSN Group were removed during the cancellation of the MSN Chat service

MSN Chat

MSN Chat was the Microsoft Network version of IRCX , which replaced Microsoft Chat, a set of Exchange-based IRCX servers first available in the Microsoft Comic Chat client, although Comic Chat was not required to connect.- History :Client CompatibilityAccording to the MSN Chat website, the...

. MSN Groups Chat rooms were removed from the CMS because MSN Subscription Chat was no longer profitable, and because of security and safety issues for children.

Features

Members of MSN Groups can use and contribute to message boards, document folders, photo albums and list pages. Some areas may only be accessible to administrators/managers.

A custom web page gives the user the choice to use the WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed onscreen during editing appears in a form closely corresponding to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product...

interface or HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....

. MSN limits some HTML code from being used and JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....

cannot be put onto any page due to security concerns. In the WYSIWYG interface there are tools to add pictures, select background and text colours, create tables, emoticon
Emoticon
An emoticon is a facial expression pictorially represented by punctuation and letters, usually to express a writer’s mood. Emoticons are often used to alert a responder to the tenor or temper of a statement, and can change and improve interpretation of plain text. The word is a portmanteau word...

s, fonts
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....

, paragraphs, text sizes etc.

Each group created comes with a default message board
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...

called "General". Other message boards can be created for other topics. Members can participate in the group by adding messages and replying using the same interface as used for creating a custom web page. Alternatively, an e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

can be sent to the group's e-mail address and the message will appear on the General message board. To reduce spam
Spam (electronic)
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...

only e-mails from members can be sent. So, even if a member from a group sends a message he or she will need to use the e-mail address specified in their profile. Some groups discourage members from disclosing their e-mail address due to spoofing
Spoofing attack
In the context of network security, a spoofing attack is a situation in which one person or program successfully masquerades as another by falsifying data and thereby gaining an illegitimate advantage.- Spoofing and TCP/IP :...

. The group may have certain guidelines to tell members not to have their e-mail on display in their profile. There is also a separate e-mail address which can be used to contact administrators only.
All groups are expected to comply with MSN's CoC, and have various guidelines for membership of the individual groups. Members who do not comply with group rules may have their membership cancelled or be permanently banned. MSN provides a Contact Form to report abuse.
Documents folders are for storage
Storage (memory)
Storage in human memory is one of three core process of memory, along with Recall and Encoding. It refers to the retention of information, which has been achieved through the encoding process, in brain for prolonged period of time until it is accessed by the recall process...

and can be made accessible to members or just administrators but not non-members. In adding a file to a documents folder this contributes to the member's storage limit. A photo album can also be created for storing photos and images for the site. These images can be put on a custom web page and on the message boards. Adding images also contributes to the storage limit. Uploading images and documents requires the ActiveX
ActiveX
ActiveX is a framework for defining reusable software components in a programming language-independent way. Software applications can then be composed from one or more of these components in order to provide their functionality....

control to be installed. The storage limit is 3 MB across all groups and can be upgraded to 30 MB if the person upgrades to MSN Hotmail
Hotmail
Windows Live Hotmail, formerly known as MSN Hotmail and commonly referred to simply as Hotmail, is a free web-based email service operated by Microsoft as part of its Windows Live group. It was founded by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith and launched in July 1996 as "HoTMaiL". It was one of the first...

Plus (fee). However, on MSN Spaces an unlimited amount of images can be added without the need of paying. So, images can be hotlinked
Inline linking
Inline linking is the use of a linked object, often an image, from one site by a web page belonging to a second site...

as they are on the MSN domain.

Organizing events for the group can be done by using the Calendar page. This embeds the calendar as used in MSN Hotmail. Depending on the settings members may be able to contribute to it. Special pages can also be created for lists and links. Again, depending on the settings members may or may not be able to add it.

If a group is placed in a specific category (such as Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...

or MSN Messenger) then a theme is automatically applied. Instead of the default violet-colored bar at the top it will be a themed bar and message boards will contain different colored buttons. Some themes are restricted to groups created in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, although there is a workaround to pass this restriction.

Closure

In October 2008, Microsoft announced the MSN Groups Service would close down on February 21, 2009. Users would still be able to retain their information even with the closure. Users had the option of migrating their data to the social website Multiply, MSN’s partner for online groups. MSN Groups would not become Windows Live Groups

Windows Live Groups

, as the tools that could be possibly utilized differed from that of the MSN Groups features. Windows Live Groups were not being launched as or marketed as a replacement for MSN Groups. MSN groups are being decommissioned as part of the dismantling of the services side of MSN. The only official option Groups were given was the opportunity to migrate to Multiply. Windows Live Groups were integrated into Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Spaces and do not have the capacity to accommodate the large memberships of MSN groups. See http://windowslivewire.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!2F7EB29B42641D59!9680.entry?wa=wsignin1.0&sa=419884292 for more information.

External links

MSN Groups Homepage (now a closure statement)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Features

Closure

See also

External links