Hank -

From what I've seen, ExcelForum is a far more capable web interface than
Microsoft's. (Note: I don't use ExcelForum, and never have)

For one thing, it automatically spam-protects user's addresses, which
MS's doesn't.

It also sends an email to the OP when a reply has been posted, which MS
doesn't. Anyone can subscribe to a thread to see updates.

It's more standards compliant, and doesn't leave half the screen blank
when displaying a message list (in the Safari browser, at least, the
message "loading selected newsgroup" is displayed in the bottom half of
MS's interface even after the group is loaded).

It has more options for sorting and displaying messages than MS's.

It's just as free as Microsoft's news server or web portal.

I also find it a more attractive interface (while orange isn't my
favorite color, MS's institutional blue turns me off as cold).

ExcelForum started out a bit rocky (you can do a Google search to see
some previous comments), but Mr. Rubin and his organization have taken a
number of steps to fit in with the gestalt of the Excel newsgroups.

While I prefer a newsreader myself, for the infrequent poster or newbie,
I suspect it's far and away superior to having to learn a new technology
(i.e., a newsreader, newsservers, etc, which, for some, is a significant
hurdle).

In article ,
Hank Scorpio wrote:

My recommendation would be to get a newsreader, which will allow you
to download all or any of the newsgroup content directly. But if you
still prefer a web interface, Microsoft provides one as well; one
which interfaces not just to Excel groups, but to all of the Microsoft
groups including Access ones. You'll find it he
http://support.microsoft.com/newsgroups/