Bill wrote:

I'm currently doing that now with a NNTP server other than msnews.

I mentioned using a non-Microsoft NSP because you posted using
Microsoft's NNTP server in your first post.

Hopefully, MS will keep its hands off of the existing NGs.

Microsoft has no control over Usenet (and why they are leaving), not
even a legal means to extinct the microsoft.* newsgroups regarding
trademark or copyright infringment since no one needs permission to
mention Microsoft's company or product names to discuss them in books,
news articles, or forums or newsgroups. They just have to not pretend
they are Microsoft (something that some of the leeching web-based forums
should better clarify). The newsgroups will continue to exist at the
discretion of whomever actually owns the resources and property that
operate the NSP services. Microsoft can only enforce and kill their own
services.

This isn't something new to NSPs. They have had to fend off rogue
control messages for decades. An NSP isn't going to drop any group
unless they choose so, not even if they cannot peer the group. That
Microsoft is dropping their NNTP server means current NSPs using
Microsoft as their primary peering host will have to change their
peering relationships. Those that never peered direct from Microsoft's
NNTP server don't care since nothing changes for them.

Most of the online forums I've tried don't fair very well against OE's
news reader, both from the point of view of navigation and watched
thread alerts.

I haven't found a web-based forum yet that can compete with the features
available in a newsreader connecting to an NNTP server. That's why most
of those leech sites pretend to operate forums but are instead providing
a webnews-for-boobs gateway to Usenet.