Microsoft ends free MSN chatroom

The world-renowned service will now be discontinued in some areas and offered at a fee in others

Bill Gates swears to being totally extraneous to this, but the once-free MSN chatrooms have now become credit-card operated entities. Too much spam and too many risks for the minors were given as the reasons for closing down one of the MSN services most popular among users. Although theoretically praiseworthy, this decision leaves a strongly bitter aftertaste and a lot of questions. Microsoft stated that, beginning October 14, 2003, the MSN Chat service will be discontinued in the EMEA area (Europe), Asia, and Latin America, while it will remain available, for a fee, in the United States, Canada, and Japan. The original service, active in 34 different countries, did not require any registration, and according to Microsoft this was a problem, as it all but prevented identification of people using the service.
Microsoft claims that this initiative is part of a series of measures, soon to be announced, curbing "inappropriate uses of the Internet". In April Microsoft launched, with Yahoo! and AOL, a joint global initiative tackling the problem of spamming both on the side of technology, by developing safer communication protocols, and on the side of society and law, by raising public awareness and promoting specific laws.
In those areas where Microsoft has chosen to keep the chat service open, it will require a payment (in the USA, and optionally in Canada and Japan) or, even if still free, it will be moderated. In the former case the service will only be available to people supplying MSN with credit card data, which would make it simpler for Microsoft to identify transgressors and stop them right away. In the latter, the chatrooms will be moderated by external partners who will avail themselves of a combination of automatic control tools and human operators. As a justification for the differences among countries, Microsoft claimed the need for MSN to "comply with the different characteristics of the various markets, including user behaviour and needs". The Redmond-based giant stressed that the closure of MSN Chat will have no impact whatsoever on other communication services, such as MSN Messenger, MSN Hotmail, and MSN Groups.
What's clear is that Microsoft has been focussing its resources on MS.NET Messenger for some time now. By warning users of the need to update their MSN/Windows Messenger clients to conform to a new version of the communication protocol, Gates' company is actually pushing its users to migrate to an application claimed to increase security and privacy... says Microsoft.
By reading between the lines, however, it becomes clear that Microsoft will be the only clear winner.
Development of alternative clients will require signing a licence contract with Microsoft for the future use of its instant messaging network. The reasons would be costs and safety considerations. The fact is that, until not long ago, MSN was doing the same to AOL, with MS trying and exploiting AOL's network for free.
Cheers and pleas for reconsideration has come from everywhere. Reactions range from people liking the idea that this could somehow deter paedophiles from using these channels to people seeing this as yet another attack on freedom of expression.
Everybody's intentions are honourable, but the doubt still lingers that this really could hamper predators using the Internet for luring minors. Clearly, the phenomenon will go underground, and this will make life more difficult for investigators. Anyway, keep your credit card handy; it's the only document really worth having.

Publication Date: 2003-10-05
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3207