For the newsreader-impaired, the MS web interface is not the best newsreader
you can find (as you've clearly documented), even though it's how MS funnels
new users to the forums via Help and via their web site. Even Outlook
Express is better, and it allows you to view and reply to any post. Here is
Chip Pearson's article about linking to the newsgroups using an NNTP
newsreader (such as OE, Netscape, Agent, and numerous others):

http://cpearson.com/excel/DirectConnect.htm

- Jon
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Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
http://PeltierTech.com
_______


wrote in message
ups.com...
Don Guillett wrote:
And you should reply to the post instead of starting a new one.

And exactly how would you propose that I accomplish that when "some
news readers" -- you might imagine that means the one(s) that I use --
"do not permit posting responses when the body of the posting is
empty"? Klunk!

For the reading-impaired, let me expand on my explanation. I found the
original posting only by going to
http://www.microsoft.com/communities...s/default.aspx .
It does not appear in Google Groups. (That is a common problem, not
limited to "empty" postings.) But the MS web site does not permit
posting a response to "empty" postings.

So my choice was not to respond at all or post a new thread. I chose
not only to help the OP, but also to educate readers about why they
might not see responses to their "empty" postings.

PS: If I duplicated the title exactly, most news readers with
"threading" capability will make my posting look like a response, not a
new thread, if they have the original posting. However, I must confess
that I do not know if I duplicated the title exactly because the MS web
site does not show the entire title. The most that I can see is "how
do I identify statistical outliers with e...". In fact, viewing the
original posting another way, I just discovered that the title is at
least "how do I identify statistical outliers with excel in". I
suspect there is more after the word "in".