Why no RTF newsgroup?

[Chris Shearer Cooper]

Am I missing something, or is there not a newsgroup specifically for RTF
questions? Doesn't it seem odd that we have newsgroups for every other
possible subset of human existence, but not this particular format
specification?

Chris

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Given that RTF is a universal format, not one specific to MS Word, I can't
see why there would be a Microsoft NG devoted to it.

 

[Chris Shearer Cooper]

But there are no newsgroups anywhere - not just no Microsoft newsgroups ...

 

[Jezebel]

Create your own then. Who do you think should pay for it?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Well, that's not something Microsoft can fix. My understanding of Usenet is
that any user can propose a new NG, but the NG into which you have posted is
"owned" by Microsoft, not actually part of Usenet. In any case, this issue
is not in any way relevant to use of tables in Microsoft Word.

 

[Chris Shearer Cooper]

Um ... good question ... pardon me all to pieces for being new to this, but
how does one start a new newsgroup? How much does it cost?

 

[Chris Shearer Cooper]

Well, it's relevant in that Word uses RTF, one can generate tables in Word
using RTF, and Microsoft kind of invented it.

Also, any discussion of starting a new newsgroup must, by definition, take
place in a newsgroup that is not the correct newsgroup, yes?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Disclaimer: I have no personal knowledge about this at all. But see
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/creating-newsgroups/part1/, which is the
first hit in a Google search for "create Usenet newsgroup." Another hit is
http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/big-eight.html

 

[Jezebel]

Word uses plain text, too; but that hardly makes MS responsible for the
definition thereof. The main value of RTF (such as remains to it) is
precisely that MS does NOT control the standard.

 

[Chris Shearer Cooper]

Who does "control" it then? It seems like Microsoft keeps adding tags to
it, I don't know if any other companies are "allowed" to do that ...

 

[Jay Freedman]

Although the RTF specification is published, unlike the Word binary
format, it is still a proprietary Microsoft format. The Wikipedia
article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Text_Format has links to the
various revisions, including the 1.9 revision that was published last
month.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Chris Shearer Cooper]

So then it should be a Microsoft newsgroup? microsoft.public.rtf?

Is there any way to suggest such a thing to Microsoft?

 

[Larry Linson]

Well, it's relevant in that Word uses RTF,
one can generate tables in Word using RTF,
and Microsoft kind of invented it.

I'd presume there's no microsoft.public.word.rtf newsgroup because they
thought there wouldn't be enough posts on the subject to warrant the
overhead or that such posts could/would be handled in another existing
newsgroup.

Also, any discussion of starting a new newsgroup
must, by definition, take place in a newsgroup
that is not the correct newsgroup, yes?

No, as a matter of fact, there are USENET newsgroups for that purpose. The
name(s?) begin with news.groups. You can find links to information on
Newsgroup Creation Policies and to a FAQ at the bottom of the page at
http://www.big-8.org/dokuwiki/doku.php. There are also links to information
on unmanaged hierarchies, such as alt. and rec.

Larry

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Chris,

Generally, the Rich Text Format would be in the 'deprecated' (not a primary format) from MS's perspective going forward, especially
with the use of XML file formats as the primary ones for the Office products starting with the 2007 versions, but the Word
newsgroups have tended to more by functionallity rather than internals or version.

Questions on RTF within Word have tended to show up in the Word conversions group (link below) or one of the Word/Office Developer
newsgroups (depending on what language or programming tool you're using to consume or create RTF content outside of Word), or one of
the sites MS has started proliferating that don't have microsoft.com as part of the domain name <g> such as the Open XML site at
http://openxmldeveloper.org

Was there a specific question on Word tables and RTF (and the version of Word) in this instance?

=================
So then it should be a Microsoft newsgroup? microsoft.public.rtf?

Is there any way to suggest such a thing to Microsoft? >>
--
Please let us know if this has helped,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

LINKS
A. Specific newsgroup/discussion group mentioned in this message:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.word.conversions
or via browser:
http://microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/?dg=microsoft.public.word.conversions

B. MS Office Community discussion/newsgroups via Web Browser
http://microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx
or
Microsoft hosted newsgroups via Outlook Express/newsreader
news://msnews.microsoft.com