MSN Closing Chatrooms – Let Others Deal With Bad Elements Online

from the punting dept

People have always said that, despite their wholesome image, it was AOL’s chatrooms and virtual sex that really helped the company catch on. It seems that MSN has decided they don’t want any of that element in their chatrooms any more. They have announced that they’ll be shutting down all of their MSN UK chat rooms and will be cutting back on others chat rooms around the world as well – and putting in place severe restrictions on who can enter. It’s a bit amusing that they’re doing this just a few months after their big ad campaign talking about how MSN had “parental controls” that would make sure kids were safe online. Apparently, they weren’t safe enough. While some child protection charities applauded the move – I think they’ll regret it. It’s not like people are going to stop chatting. Now, however, they’ll move to other places that are even less monitored and that aren’t as clear in trying to make sure children don’t give out their information online. MSN has every right to punt on the issue and let others deal with it – but simply closing down those chat rooms isn’t going to solve the real issue, and may make it even harder to protect children.


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Comments on “MSN Closing Chatrooms – Let Others Deal With Bad Elements Online”

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80 Comments
unknown (user link) says:

Re: Re: Re:3 Not in their name

yea i know they shouldn’t let kids get on anything that they want to that is just wrong.Because some kids do stuff that they are not supose to and it is not good. “I” think that kids should have audult super vision at all times when on the internet.Because kids are doin the same thing at school’s to because teatchers are not watchin them very good…soo”ATTITION” to all teatchers i mean no harm to you and your teatching. SINCERLY, Destiny poole

Cedarhurst says:

Re: Re: Re: Not in their name

People that have teens and would like to have these teens have a relatively comfortable place to chat might try Paltalk.com. The parental controls within the program are very extensive. The teen rooms are monitored to limit prediatory behavior and provide as safe a place as possible for teen chatters. The program is also free.

Sophie says:

Re: Re: Re: Not in their name

I’m a kid, and i can tell you i wouldn’t even bother going out of my way to find another chat site, and anyway there’s no point, chat rooms bore kids after like a week but i do think the dollzmania chat needs to be checked out, it’s a small site but yeah, you know, it’s still a bit. dodgy.

ashlie brausey says:

Re: Re: Re:2 Not in their name

i really like dollzmania chat and i wanted to thank you because you were right its a great site and i chat everyday at least twice.i hope that someboidy sees my message that way they just dont think were using themand giving them these messages just so theyll check it oout but no because its a real great site and i love it

westpac says:

Re: Not in their name

If AOL drops their chat rooms they’re going to find themselves in a big empty place. MSN may soon discover the same thing. If they remove the unique features that their service provides people will abandon the large ISPs for local services or cheaper ones like NetZero.

Oh, and kids will always find places to chat. It’s adults who are clueless about such things.

Mike says:

Re: Closure of Chatrooms!

I hate hearing everyday about these ****** Peadaphiles… Sorry about the stars… felt like typing it… though Closing of chat rooms ain’t the answer… More a lick than a promise eh! I reckon now closure of chatrooms, then afterwards e penfriend channel via email, then email penfriends, then it will move to free date sites, Java online chats (unless chatline closure dealt with these) Then message boards and forums.. The thing is the services ain’t the darn problem, it’s how those who run them govern them and restrict the users..(done really ineffectively) basically i wouldn’t put those concerned with running chatrooms in charge of my rice pudding… I’d much rather eat it first than trust them to look after it… I can see that the next move up the line will be to stop residential Internet and cyber cafe usage and ask business’s to use a specialist equivelent for use for strictly business purposes. Internet for the normal public joe will be dead! think I’m wrong… well I don’t think so…. Nothings impossible… this would start in this country or USA then go Global too… The governing of the Internet should have been sorted out at the start, it’s no good shutting services now! It’s time to start figuring out strategys to govern all this software in a far more effective way… ask. Why don’t the conmpanies who run chatrooms ask users to suggest ways to govern the chatrooms as obviously the ones in charge ain’t intellegent enough to sort out this problem by themselves… What’s you views

Mike

AJAH says:

Re: Not in their name

This is the reality. Parents dont watch their children like they should. It is easier to blame a company for their childs actions then to say,”I should have watched over them better and kept them busy enough and/or taught them better”. It is much easier for a parent to put something in front of a child just to keep them busy so they then can walk off and do their own thing instead of doing what they should. Seems to me that they should not have had children in the first place if they themselves cannot be responsible enough and take responsibily over their own actions which should be to ” WATCH YOUR FLIPPEN CHILDREN”. The second problem is with the majority of americans. We care not that a pedofile can do this over and over again with little to no real punishment. Just the other day i was listening to 3 court cases where the perpatrators admited guilt and what did they get? One got 15 months but only has to do actually serve 4 years if he is good. Ha Ha. Bear in mind he has raped and molested children before this particular case. The second got intense probation. Intense probation is where they have to check in once a month and the probation officer comes by his home when he gets a chance…which could mean once a month if he gets unlucky. Less often if he is lucky…by the way the first child he raped was his own daughter the second child was his girlfriends sisters daughter who was 9 years old. Bear in mind these are the only ones he was “CAUGHT” in the act doing. No telling how many countless other in all cases. The third got a total of 18 months but that doesnt include time off for good behavior. Im guessing he will do 3 months. So if we want to hold ourselves guilty of doing nothing about these things we might as well let someone do something. Since we are so apathetic to what goes on in the world and we are not willing to REALLY do anything other than complain..hey..its our own faults that people make choices for us.

AJAH says:

Re: Not in their name

This is the reality. Parents dont watch their children like they should. It is easier to blame a company for their childs actions then to say,”I should have watched over them better and kept them busy enough and/or taught them better”. It is much easier for a parent to put something in front of a child just to keep them busy so they then can walk off and do their own thing instead of doing what they should. Seems to me that they should not have had children in the first place if they themselves cannot be responsible enough and take responsibily over their own actions which should be to ” WATCH YOUR FLIPPEN CHILDREN”. The second problem is with the majority of americans. We care not that a pedofile can do this over and over again with little to no real punishment. Just the other day i was listening to 3 court cases where the perpatrators admited guilt and what did they get? One got 15 years but only has to do actually serve 4 years if he is good. Ha Ha. Bear in mind he has raped and molested children before this particular case. The second got intense probation. Intense probation is where they have to check in once a month and the probation officer comes by his home when he gets a chance…which could mean once a month if he gets unlucky. Less often if he is lucky…by the way the first child he raped was his own daughter the second child was his girlfriends sisters daughter who was 9 years old. Bear in mind these are the only ones he was “CAUGHT” in the act doing. No telling how many countless other in all cases. The third got a total of 18 months but that doesnt include time off for good behavior. Im guessing he will do 3 months. So if we want to hold ourselves guilty of doing nothing about these things we might as well let someone do something. Since we are so apathetic to what goes on in the world and we are not willing to REALLY do anything other than complain..hey..its our own faults that people make choices for us.

Marion McBride says:

Re: MSN

Hi, I just saw your comment about MSN chat rooms, I have a group on MSN and we HAD a chat room which only members could enter. I’m so annoyed with MSN as I pay for my group room and now we can’t have live quiz nights anymore. Trying to find a new chat room is so difficult as the ones I found so far let anyone in. I have payed for a chat room on Buzzen but anyone can enter and I’m fed up with throwing people out that are not my members.
regards Marion

Neoduraflame says:

Re: Re: what about msn messanger?

I know for a Fact that Msn Messanger will not be shut down And the http://www.groups.msn.com will still have there Group chat rooms as lomng as your a member of that gruop or become a member

All MSN Is Doing is Chargen Us for protection when its not gonna do ne good because i bet the first day this goes over Its gonna be 500 plus call to the msn Help desk ASAP with in 4 hours time

MSN is just robben us of our freedom of speech some what not all the way but perrty Damn close

And We Owe it All To The 46 billion Dollar man Bill “The Road Side Robber” Gates

fyi_bco says:

Re: Re: Re: what about msn messanger?

Your answer is incorrect. All chat in msn will be shutting down. Here’s info from their tech people:

“As customers continue to evolve and change the way they communicate, the number of people using chat has significantly declined and chat has become a less popular method of communication with customers. Microsoft looked at the MSN Chat user numbers and the chat room industry on the whole and determined that discontinuing this service would allow us to focus on providing an even better online experience to the broadest set of Microsoft communication services customers. With this, MSN Chat will no longer be offered as of October 2006.
In line with this, the chat feature within MSN Groups will also be affected. However, please note that MSN Groups will continue to be a free service and will not be closing down.”

I for one am very glad to see MSN step up and shut down something that did start out to be something fun to something being very dangerous for not only young but old.

People have missused, abused, obsessed and done things that they would have never dreamed of doing before the internet and chatrooms appeared. How many men or women do you know that used 900#’s, visited actuall hookers, or frequently used their cell phones to contact strangers………..yet with a few clicks you can jump into a fantasy world that truely isn’t fantasy, because before you know it you’re not just talking in the chatrooms, you’re making secret phone calls and meeting up with these people.

I applaud MSN even tho their intention is to only protect children………….there are older children that just can’t seem to keep out of trouble in those chat rooms too.

ashley... says:

whyy..

im a young teenager so i understand alot. like first of all, why are the kids talking to them , if they dont kno who it is, they shudent add them to there messenger list! i love msn messenger and dont want to get it takin away from some kids that arent acting responsiblie on the internet ! so why arent there parents watching them more?

Robert Pat says:

About Msn Messenger and chat rooms.

All Msn should do is with there chat rooms have age group means should like this.

16-18

18-25

25-30

30-38

38-45

45-60

soon as you log on a chat room you have buy it owed for a month if you want you have pay for it

and they should no who are in a chat room. Or Msn send a E-mail to all msn people used there service for free that they onley allowed have 2 E-mails with names if get third E-mail you buy it. That way you crack spammers down.

David (user link) says:

New Chat

Where will we go now MSN is closing?

RedFox is a new network of chat rooms, which includes replacements for some of MSN’s most popular rooms, such as Grapevine Edge (RF Edge).

What about security?

If any perverts actually do enter our chat rooms, their IP is recorded, and that user can be banned and reported (a screen shot should be sent of the chatter in action, details how to do this are on the website).

Will there be a messenger if MSN deides to close that too?

Yes, we are currently in the proces of launching FoxBuddy, a messenger similar to MSN messenger. It will be free, and always will be free.

Will we ever start charging?

We will NEVER charge to use our FoxBuddy messenger or chat rooms, we don’t believe in playing on people’s fears to make money (unlike MSN).

But I liked MSN groups

No problem, we are also in the process of launching RF groups, and unlike MSN, if you join one group, you don’t need to register with another, you will have the same username and password for every group. The groups will also be free.

Won’t chat load slow?

No, unimportant parameters have been taken out of the chat room code. As soon as you click on the chat room, you can enter your nickname and start chatting straight away!

I want to register my nickname.

No problem, it only takes 2 seconds. Details are at the bottom of every chat room page. It is also free to register.

Is this just an illegal copy of MSN?

No. It is not a copy at all. We do not use ANY of MSN’s chat room code, we have no desire for our chat rooms to close when MSN’s does. In fact, our rooms are a different style. When MSN chat closes, we will still be around.

http://redfox.co.nr

RedFox says:

New Chat

Note: RF Groups has been replaced by RedFox Community Forums.

Where will we go now MSN is closing?

RedFox is a new network of chat rooms, which includes replacements for some of MSN’s most popular rooms, such as Grapevine Edge (RF Edge).

Can I create my own chat room?

Yes. And it’s free. Your room will be hosted on our site. Plus there is the option of a bot for your chat room, which is also free.

What about security?

If any unsavoury users do actually enter our chat rooms, their IP is recorded, and that user can be banned and reported (a screen shot should be sent of the chatter in action, details how to do this are on the website).

Will there be a messenger if MSN deides to close that too?

Yes, we are currently in the process of launching FoxBuddy, a messenger similar to MSN messenger. It will be free, and always will be free. This is nearly ready to be launched.

Will we ever start charging?

We will NEVER charge to use our FoxBuddy messenger or chat rooms, we don’t believe in playing on people’s fears to make money (unlike MSN). However, at one point, in the future, we MAY have banner or text ads on our pages.

But I liked MSN groups

MSN Groups are still around, just without the chat rooms. However, we at RedFox have launched RedFox Community Forums.
If you register for one group, you can post on any.

I want to register my nickname.

No problem, it only takes 2 seconds. Details are at the bottom of every chat room page. It is also free to register.

Is this just an illegal copy of MSN?

No. It is not a copy at all. We do not use ANY of MSN’s chat room code, we have no desire for our chat rooms to close when MSN’s does. In fact, our rooms are a different style. When MSN chat closes, we will still be around.

Please note: The MSN chat clones are NOT permitted to use MSN’s controls, despite what any clone admin tells you.
Certain sites are being investigated by MSN, as they are using the MSN code and chat interface without permission, which IS illegal – though certain clone admins will falsely tell you otherwise.

What about support?

All support at RedFox is free. Queries are answered ASAP, though at weekends and certian times it may take longer than usual – up to around 72 hours.

RedFox says:

New Chat

Note: RF Groups has been replaced by RedFox Community Forums.

Where will we go now MSN is closing?

RedFox is a new network of chat rooms, which includes replacements for some of MSN’s most popular rooms, such as Grapevine Edge (RF Edge).

Can I create my own chat room?

Yes. And it’s free. Your room will be hosted on our site. Plus there is the option of a bot for your chat room, which is also free.

What about security?

If any unsavoury users do actually enter our chat rooms, their IP is recorded, and that user can be banned and reported (a screen shot should be sent of the chatter in action, details how to do this are on the website).

Will there be a messenger if MSN deides to close that too?

Yes, we are currently in the process of launching FoxBuddy, a messenger similar to MSN messenger. It will be free, and always will be free. This is nearly ready to be launched.

Will we ever start charging?

We will NEVER charge to use our FoxBuddy messenger or chat rooms, we don’t believe in playing on people’s fears to make money (unlike MSN). However, at one point, in the future, we MAY have banner or text ads on our pages.

But I liked MSN groups

MSN Groups are still around, just without the chat rooms. However, we at RedFox have launched RedFox Community Forums.
If you register for one group, you can post on any.

I want to register my nickname.

No problem, it only takes 2 seconds. Details are at the bottom of every chat room page. It is also free to register.

Is this just an illegal copy of MSN?

No. It is not a copy at all. We do not use ANY of MSN’s chat room code, we have no desire for our chat rooms to close when MSN’s does. In fact, our rooms are a different style. When MSN chat closes, we will still be around.

Please note: The MSN chat clones are NOT permitted to use MSN’s controls, despite what any clone admin tells you.
Certain sites are being investigated by MSN, as they are using the MSN code and chat interface without permission, which IS illegal – though certain clone admins will falsely tell you otherwise.

What about support?

All support at RedFox is free. Queries are answered ASAP, though at weekends and certian times it may take longer than usual – up to around 72 hours.

Leon says:

science

hey everyone why do kids wanta really come online well i will tell u why because they wanna chat when they get bored or because they just wanna have fun….well i always wanted to chat online when i was little too yes i did but i figured out that it was BAD i know alot about childrens and aldult aldults come on here to meet new people or to talk or to have a lover if there bored but many other people are lonley and lots get kidnapped thats not good…………

tara says:

oh seems redfox is a copycat cos there is only ONE official Grapevine Edge and thats the former official MSN UK Grapevine Edge run by Mello Millie BlushingBabe and Pinky that has its chatroom on OASIZ.NET It still also has its official msn uk group

18 & over only tho

It’s chatroom did move to that buzzen place when msn closed chat but then they (Mello Blush & co ) moved it to join Oasiz

Judy says:

Aol Chat rooms

Thay are usless and horrible, and should be shut down
Everytime a person trys to start a decnt conversation
someone shows up it insult, be abusive, stalk, and be
nasty.. Then also there are children exposed to all
of the pediphiles..Seems only low life people use
aol chat rooms..Ignoring doesn’t work.. They come back
PLEASE SHUT DOWN AOL CHAT ROOMS.. SO THESE PEOPLE
WILL STOP…WIDOWS ROOM IS THE WORST..SAVAGELY
CRUEL AND HORRIBLE COMMENTS ABOUT MY DEAD HUSBAND
I REPORTED IT AND AOL DID ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING.

samuelsinn says:

long and gone

so i use to chat on MSN when i was a kid with in a few weeks of MSN shuting down all its chat servers every chater that was on msn migrated to other servers and so on. over time the chat service is dieing out. thay are becomeing less and less as the world see that there is no reason for them anymore. why chat in a chat room when you can text ? why bother with a computer when you have your phone ? its been almost id say 9-10 years since msn closed down. and we still from time to time look back on the old and out dated times. and say. why did it go south like this. i look back and go. damn where do i go from here, the shats that where around when i was a kid yes soime where dirty and filled with content not suted for a child but you know what. its still around today. insted of meting perverts nad pedofiles and other things like that in chat rooms now there meting them on blogs. and on twiter and placese like that socel networking has become the new chat room. and still we as a hole will migrate onwords to the next thing and the next thing. in time maybe all socel networking will go the way of the chat room. dieing at the hands of big bisnus that wants to hide some dirty secrit about there sites. just wait youll see

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