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    The new features of these forums, such as My Threads and My Forums Threads, are great.  But it can lead to confusion as to which forum one is really replying in.

    If you are looking at My Forums Threads under TechNet, it looks like all the threads are under TechNet.  The same is true for MSDN, Answers, Microsoft, and probably others that I don't even know about.

    Please, can nothing be done to make this better organized?
    • Changed type Brian Borg Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6:18 PM Not a question.
    Tuesday, August 11, 2009 2:10 AM

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    Yes, this problem has been noted a number of times already, so far without any acknowledgment that the problem is real.  Responses to a thread from the wrong brand do actually end up correctly in the thread.  The one thing that doesn't work is a user trying to start a new thread.  The forum s/he wants to post to isn't listed.

    Oddly, this doesn't attract nearly as many complaints as it should.  I reckon the vast majority of users that fall into this trap simply give up trying to start a thread.  Those users that post anyway will usually see their thread end up in the Off Topic forum. 

    The .NET BCL forum is the first listed forum for the MSDN brand.  It gets lots of off topic threads due to this.  Moderating this forum has turned into a massive pita.
    Hans Passant.
    Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:31 AM
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    There is a related problem that is causing broken links and failed navigation.  Here's an example.  From this page  Microsoft’s Software Protection Platform  I have copied the link from the bottom and pasted it here:

    White Paper: Microsoft’s Software Protection Platform: Innovations for Windows Vista and Windows Server “Longhorn”

    But it is broken.  (Click it to see).  Somehow  social.technet.microsoft.com  got inserted where  www.microsoft.com  belongs.



    When I view the original page's html, I see the source of the problem.  The anchor contains a relative url:

    <a href="/presspass/download/features/2006/10-03-06SoftwareProtectionWP.doc">



    Oddly, when I highlight the original page's link and right-click Copy Shortcut, that gets pasted here correctly:

    http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/download/features/2006/10-03-06SoftwareProtectionWP.doc



    I just did an experiment.  I took the same buffered text that produced the broken link above, then pasted it into a new WLM email.  It produced a correct link beginning with www.microsoft.com.   So I believe the problem lies here with this forum software.

    Tuesday, August 11, 2009 12:03 PM
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    I do appreciate the personal attention, but a simple thank you would do.

    Tuesday, August 11, 2009 12:20 PM
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    Yes, this problem has been noted a number of times already, so far without any acknowledgment that the problem is real.  Responses to a thread from the wrong brand do actually end up correctly in the thread.  The one thing that doesn't work is a user trying to start a new thread.  The forum s/he wants to post to isn't listed.
    Hans Passant.

    Thanks, Hans.

    I did not realize the problem with new thread.  That makes it even more confusing.
    Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6:09 PM
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    Derosec, I have no idea who red-boxed your post.

    I certainly do not find it abusive in any way.

    In fact, I think your illustration of a problem with relative links in the current software is very helpful.  Possibly there should be a bug report in Forums Issues.
    Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6:16 PM
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    Obviously the forum developers considered it abusive.

    Roger Spencelayh, Computing Services, Malmesbury, UK
    Tuesday, August 11, 2009 7:42 PM
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    Obviously the forum developers considered it abusive.



    In fairness, Roger, I do not believe the red-box came from the Forum Development team.

    I think it came from a certain MVP who is unaware that a terse scolding I delivered in January has escalated into an all-out feud.  He is also probably unaware that I had offered to take that conversation private first, but that offer was rejected.  You'll find the offending post quoted here.

    Tuesday, August 11, 2009 11:14 PM
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    This is typical.  Every thread you touch turns into shite.  It is always about you, not the topic raised by the OP.  That's the standard definition of a troll.  You've been banned, your posts are not welcome at any of the MSFT forums.  What does it take to stop you from abusing these forums?  Get lost.
    Hans Passant.
    Wednesday, August 12, 2009 12:03 AM
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    This is typical.  Every thread you touch turns into shite.  It is always about you, not the topic raised by the OP.  That's the standard definition of a troll.  You've been banned, your posts are not welcome at any of the MSFT forums.  What does it take to stop you from abusing these forums?  Get lost.
    Hans Passant.


    Hans, just exactly what has changed since you and I discussed my original Corrupted Profile?  You were well aware it was never getting fixed, and I was being hassled and banned for it.  We even had a discussion about this very thread's topic ("branding problems") well after that.

    I'll tell you what has changed, Hans.  I blew a loud whistle against Moderator Abuse and Discourtesy, for which you are providing a classic example.


    Seriously, Hans, it is you who ruined this thread.

    Wednesday, August 12, 2009 12:58 AM
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    For example my experience of the different brands is that I can separate them from each other and I am clever enough to notice that a thread is being visited under a different brand. I don't find different brands impossible to use. But I wish there was only one brand "Forums" under which could be different categories like Hardware, Software, Offtopic or what ever. This is because I have not established any strong feeling about what the meaning of MSDN vs TechNet vs Microsoft forums are compared to each other and I really wouldn't care because I just would like to find "the forums" where "people post messages". Also if there were some overlappings, then those would be eliminated thanks to only one brand. If I learned the differences of MSDN, TechNet, and Microsoft forums, the situation might be different, but still I think that approaching Microsoft technologies would be easier if people could just pop in into one brand and not need to worry about what the other brands are.
    Thursday, August 13, 2009 6:36 AM
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    . . .But I wish there was only one brand "Forums" under which could be different categories like Hardware, Software, Offtopic or what ever. This is because I have not established any strong feeling about what the meaning of MSDN vs TechNet vs Microsoft forums are compared to each other and I really wouldn't care because I just would like to find "the forums" where "people post messages". Also if there were some overlappings, then those would be eliminated thanks to only one brand. If I learned the differences of MSDN, TechNet, and Microsoft forums, the situation might be different, but still I think that approaching Microsoft technologies would be easier if people could just pop in into one brand and not need to worry about what the other brands are.

    There is a page where you can find links to most, if not all, of the Microsoft forums:  http://www.microsoft.com/communities/forums/default.mspx.

    I have also seen overlapping.  For example, if you want to ask a question about IE under Vista, which do you choose?

    Windows Vista > Forums Home > Windows Vista Forums > Internet Explorer, or
    Windows Client TechCenter > Windows Vista IT Pro Forums > Windows Vista IE?

    And what about IE under Windows 7?  The moderators on the Vista forums on Microsoft Answers Forums seem to be especially fussy about not answering about anything besides Vista.
    Thursday, August 13, 2009 10:03 PM
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    This is typical.  Every thread you touch turns into shite.  It is always about you, not the topic raised by the OP.  That's the standard definition of a troll.  You've been banned, your posts are not welcome at any of the MSFT forums.  What does it take to stop you from abusing these forums?  Get lost.
    Hans Passant.

    if nobugz, of all people got trolled with a red neon, to my understanding, that is one crazy troller..

    (apologies for the post not pertaining to a suggestion or feedback, but i personally do not like trolls.. view the proposing an answer link thread..
    i confronted the troll about it, troll disappeared.  troll did do good work coding, just bad mentality behind the replies.  i can deal without either one. )

    trujade.
    i like: VB General  google  fast cars  username password
    Tuesday, August 18, 2009 12:18 AM
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    There is a page where you can find links to most, if not all, of the Microsoft forums:  http://www.microsoft.com/communities/forums/default.mspx .
    That page is a good start, but doesn't help in the bigger picture. When I go to Microsoft front page, I find Microsoft Forums link. That leads to forums list, but MSDN and TechNet are still as brands there. Then under MSDN is hugely long page of categories with subcategories. It would be easier to navigate a deeper hierarchy than such a long page while thinking about why there are more than one brand.
    Wednesday, August 19, 2009 6:47 AM
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    There is a page where you can find links to most, if not all, of the Microsoft forums:  http://www.microsoft.com/communities/forums/default.mspx.

    I have also seen overlapping.  For example, if you want to ask a question about IE under Vista, which do you choose?

    Windows Vista > Forums Home > Windows Vista Forums > Internet Explorer, or
    Windows Client TechCenter > Windows Vista IT Pro Forums > Windows Vista IE?

    And what about IE under Windows 7?  The moderators on the Vista forums on Microsoft Answers Forums seem to be especially fussy about not answering about anything besides Vista.




    Bnborg, not to confuse matters further, but here's an alternative:  IE8 Newsgroups.    Discussions in microsoft.public.internetexplorer.general


    Wednesday, August 19, 2009 12:08 PM