They weren't on crack; they were just on a new, unknown track!

Recently, it has been interesting to note how the microsoft.public.platformsdk.mslayerforunicode newsgroup has been getting traffic, but traffic that has nothing whatsoever to do with MSLU, the Microsoft Layer for Unicode on Windows 95/98/Me Systems.

And the other day I got a mail from C++ MVP Mike that explains what is going on here!

His mail:

Did this screen always say "Unicode" when describing the mslayerforunicode newsgroup?  (scroll down on tree on the left also)

http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx?dg=microsoft.public.platformsdk.mslayerforunicode&cat=en_US_5fcd6081-85f7-467c-9e45-91ff49835c3b&lang=en&cr=US

may finally explain why we've seen non-MSLU based questions posted to this newsgroup in the past, and have unjustly scolded people for doing so :)  Or maybe the change was recent.  I'm just wondering if you remembered whether this always said "Unicode", on the tree and in the heading on the pane ("Discussions in Unicode")

Well, they say a picture is worth 1000 words:

Well, that explains it!

I guess I'm old school, getting at newsgroups through NNTP style portals rather than HTML style ones. Which is why I never noticed this one.

But it looks like this "simplification" layer is used with lots of the groups. It is just our bad luck that the one used in this particular group is so misleading....

Or is this a call to repurpose the group? We have the bull by the horns, maybe we should just hang on and ride it?

I mean, given the whole MSLU support question is playing itself out. and the lack of heavy activity on the international newsgroups in general.

But then of course there is the name under NNTP (microsoft.public.platformsdk.mslayerforunicode) to contend with.

Maybe no one uses NNTP anymore.

What do you think?

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