14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is replacing the old MSDN and TechNet forums with Microsoft Q&A, a new service whose first preview version is available today.
The Redmond-based software giant explains that it’s all happening because the MSDN and TechNet forums are already outdated, so a more advanced solution that could help with technical problems by putting the emphasis on the community and Microsoft engineers was needed.
Microsoft Q&A looks and feels like Microsoft’s Community forums, and allows you to ask for questions, mark replies as the solution, follow posts, tags, and people, add tags to make it easier to discover discussions, and log in with Microsoft Docs accounts.
“For over 10 years the MSDN and TechNet Forums played a key part in enabling our customers to unblock their business scenarios by offering a platform where technical questions could be answered by Microsoft and the community. As time progressed, and technology evolved, the needs of the community grew beyond what the existing solution could provide. We started on a journey to identify a new, robust solution which would support our need to evolve the user experience,” Microsoft explains.
New posts not allowed on MSDN and TechNet forums
Microsoft Q&A is also mobile friendly, and Microsoft explains that the content currently available on MSDN and TechNet forums won’t be migrated to the new service.
“In the next few months, when a user searches for something that doesn't appear when they're browsing in Microsoft Q&A, we'll use machine learning to display read-only questions and answers from MSDN and TechNet forums,” Microsoft explains.
For the time being, reputations on the other two forums can’t be transferred to Microsoft Q&A, but the company claims that options to display badges and points on the Q&A profile will be available in the coming months when an option to link accounts will be released.
Users will no longer be allowed to post new messages on MSDN and TechNet, but all discussions will continue to be available as read only.