suggestion newsgroups

If Microsoft can make one improvement to their newsgroup server, it will be:
Consolidate all newsgroups and use categories to group threads to specific topics.
Having used microsoft.public newsgroups for several years now, I realized how frustrating it is to use newsgroups. You know, there are like about 2000 newsgroups out there and I find catching up with posts from 40+ separate newsgroups an absolute pain!
I don't know if it is a technical limitation (like newsgroup protocols), or Microsoft's habit to dish out 100+ new newsgroups every year. Having a bit of a scan on the newsgroups, I was just amazed at how obsolete and empty the newsgroups are: Windows 95 Setup newsgroups? Can you believe that? Trying to find the newsgroup you want isn't exactly fun either.
It's time for a revolution and have microsoft.public's 2000+ redundant newsgroups consolidate into 200. Sounds crazy? Not at all. It's just a little thing called rationalization. We are going to just use *one* newsgroup for Windows Vista, and for any specific chit-chat for Windows Mail or games, they are grouped in the same newsgroup, all without moving back and forward between:
microsoft.public.windows.vista.mail microsoft.public.windows.vista.games
Here's an example of how this will work:
Once upon a time, you open up Windows Mail, you searched a newsgroup for Windows Vista, and you found:
microsoft.public.windows.vista
and nothing else - just one result. You opened it, and you found lots of threads, lots of posts.
Now you want to see some threads specific to hardware devices, you clicked:
View > Sort By > Categories
and all the 2000 threads grouped nicely into 11 groups:
- Administration, Accounts, and Passwords - File Management - Games - Hardware Devices - Installation and Setup - Mail - Music, Pictures, and Video - Networking and Sharing - Performance and Maintenance - Print, Fax, and Scan - Security
Now you wanted to see threads related to Windows Mail, so you click Mail. Nice, this group has 351 threads. The way it's presented is like Windows XP's Show in Groups, or Office Outlook 2003's Categories.
It's like a supermarket. You have aisles of stock grouped together. You don't have separate supermarket stores under the same name just to sell one type of product do you?
Now the benefits:
- Easier newsgroup search (200, not 2000) - Less cross-posting to irrelevant newsgroups - Cleaner look of the Folders list in Windows Mail
Hope to hear your opinion on this matter.
Thanks.

Unfortunately, interesting idea though this is, itis completely incompatible with the way that newsgroups work. Any newsgroup delivery method needs to be compatible with all other newsgroup software, and not become some MS proprietary solution.
-- </Slugsie> <Nicholas> wrote in message

If Microsoft can make one improvement to their newsgroup server, it will be:
Consolidate all newsgroups and use categories to group threads to specific topics.
Having used microsoft.public newsgroups for several years now, I realized how frustrating it is to use newsgroups. You know, there are like about 2000 newsgroups out there and I find catching up with posts from 40+ separate newsgroups an absolute pain!
I don't know if it is a technical limitation (like newsgroup protocols), or Microsoft's habit to dish out 100+ new newsgroups every year. Having a bit of a scan on the newsgroups, I was just amazed at how obsolete and empty the newsgroups are: Windows 95 Setup newsgroups? Can you believe that? Trying to find the newsgroup you want isn't exactly fun either.
It's time for a revolution and have microsoft.public's 2000+ redundant newsgroups consolidate into 200. Sounds crazy? Not at all. It's just a little thing called rationalization. We are going to just use *one* newsgroup for Windows Vista, and for any specific chit-chat for Windows Mail or games, they are grouped in the same newsgroup, all without moving back and forward between:
microsoft.public.windows.vista.mail microsoft.public.windows.vista.games
Here's an example of how this will work:
Once upon a time, you open up Windows Mail, you searched a newsgroup for Windows Vista, and you found:
microsoft.public.windows.vista
and nothing else - just one result. You opened it, and you found lots of threads, lots of posts.
Now you want to see some threads specific to hardware devices, you clicked:
View > Sort By > Categories
and all the 2000 threads grouped nicely into 11 groups:
- Administration, Accounts, and Passwords - File Management - Games - Hardware Devices - Installation and Setup - Mail - Music, Pictures, and Video - Networking and Sharing - Performance and Maintenance - Print, Fax, and Scan - Security
Now you wanted to see threads related to Windows Mail, so you click Mail. Nice, this group has 351 threads. The way it's presented is like Windows XP's Show in Groups, or Office Outlook 2003's Categories.
It's like a supermarket. You have aisles of stock grouped together. You don't have separate supermarket stores under the same name just to sell one type of product do you?
Now the benefits:
- Easier newsgroup search (200, not 2000) - Less cross-posting to irrelevant newsgroups - Cleaner look of the Folders list in Windows Mail
Hope to hear your opinion on this matter.
Thanks.

"Slugsie" wrote in message

Unfortunately, interesting idea though this is, itis completely incompatible with the way that newsgroups work. Any newsgroup delivery method needs to be compatible with all other newsgroup software, and not become some MS proprietary solution.

When has that ever stopped MS? If they don't care about being carried on Usenet servers, they can do anything they want on their own news server. Besides, there may be a way to maintain backward compatibility like being able to play stereo records on a mono phonograph (remember those?) or watch color tv programs on b/w tv sets.
Tom Lake