In October, we told you about plans to close MSN Groups. That time has come, and we want to mention it one more time, to make sure you migrate your groups to Multiply or save data from those groups locally before the service closes. We originally planned to close MSN Groups on February 21, but have extended this to February 23, so you still have the weekend to prepare.

If you are an MSN Groups user, you’ll need to move your group to the Multiply service before Monday, February 23, 2009. On February 23 we will close MSN Groups and you will no longer be able to access your group or any of the data in it. 

We’d like to take a minute to answer some of the most frequent questions we’ve heard about this. For more details, visit the MSN Groups Resource Center at http://msngroupsresourcecenter.spaces.live.com/.

Why are you closing MSN Groups?

It is our goal to always provide the most current and user-friendly technology to our users, and over the past few years our research and user feedback indicate that MSN Groups fell short of that goal. At the same time, we have been making huge investments in the Windows Live suite of services. In the long term, closing MSN Groups helps us move users to new group experiences that over time will give them more ways to stay in touch with the people they care about. In December we released a brand new service for groups on Windows Live, building it from the ground up to provide great value for our customers.

Since the new Windows Live Groups service was built on a new platform with a different mix of features, we weren’t able to retrofit it to use the data contained in MSN Groups. However, it is very important to us that you can keep the data you’ve created using MSN Groups and can continue to enjoy those experiences. So we have partnered with Multiply to provide you with a way to transfer all of your MSN Groups data and keep your groups going into the future on Multiply.

Why Multiply?

Multiply is an online group and media sharing service that PCWorld recently called one of the ten most underrated tech products. Multiply has worked diligently with us to understand all the ways our customers use MSN Groups, and has prepared its service to receive and host MSN Groups and their data. Multiply prepared a special opt-in migration method that puts group managers in control of moving a group to Multiply and inviting members to rejoin the group in its new location.

Why not allow current MSN Groups to migrate to Windows Live Groups?

Windows Live Groups was built on a new platform with a different mix of features from MSN Groups. The features in Windows Live Groups are optimized for smaller groups of up to 20 people, like clubs or families, whereas MSN Groups caters to a wide variety of group sizes and types, including large public groups. Because the two services differ in their intent and features, they were built using different technologies, and a direct migration from MSN Groups to Windows Live Groups wasn’t possible. Multiply offers a similar set of features to MSN Groups and therefore can more effectively receive all of the MSN Groups data at this time.

If you have a smaller group and would like to try out the new Windows Live Groups service, now is a great time to do so. You can’t transfer all of your MSN Groups data directly, but you can invite former members to start over again with a new group on Windows Live. Groups on Windows Live with fewer than 20 members can enjoy group chats using Windows Live Messenger. If your group has between 20 and 1000 members, you won’t be able to use group chat, but you can still create a group, and can take advantage of the group website, calendar, discussions, and other features of Windows Live Groups. You can find more info about Windows Live Groups here.

Where can I learn more?

If you have other questions, visit the MSN Groups Resource Center for the most up-to-date answers to common questions, information about migrating a group to Multiply, contact information for our support staff, and important dates.

Thanks for using MSN Groups. Whether you decide to move your group to Multiply or start over using Windows Live Groups, we wish you and your group all the best.

- Charlotte Jones, Group Product Manager