Q: My friend and I both have broadband routers that do not have UPnP. File transfers are insanely slow on MSN Messenger (6.2; they transfer at dial up speeds) while transfering relatively fast on AIM. Will File Transfers be faster in future versions?

A: NATs do cause problems for transferring files directly. We are looking into improvements here.

Q: what port do file transfers run on?

A: ports 6891 through 6900, inclusive (the first session is on 6891, a second concurrent session on 6892, etc)

Q: The latest version of MSN Messenger allows you to create your own emoticons. However, you cannot create animated emoticons in Messenger or add animated emoticons from other programs.

A: This is something we have heard from customers in the past. How important of a feature is this to you?

Q: DO YOU USE MSGR PLUS! ???

A: Not really, because changes in our code usually breaks Messenger Plus, and we always use the latest build of MSN Messenger

Q: For a very user/community oriented program, msn seems like a very closed and insular group... why is this and is it going to change?

A: Could you describe some ways where we can increase the interaction? We do get customer feedback in other forums, I'd like to find out which ones you'd like to see us do more on. Thx

Q: At times, I suddenly find myself dragged into a mutiperson chat which has people who I have specifically blocked. I find this an annoyance and at times worse than Messenger SPAM. Is something going to be done in the future regarding this?

A: Good suggestion. Thx.

Q: As an owner of a MSN website that provides DP's, emoticons, backgrounds & nicknames I'm also searching for news about MSN Messenger. Is there any possebility to make a kind of 'changelog' after releasing a new version/build of MSN Messenger?

A: Our download website has a "What's New" section. Would you like to see more detail there?

Q: roger: why dont you assist the development of plus and other addons by publicizing apis again or publishing debug symbols? or helping/commented at msn developer sites like the aforementioned msnfanatic, or the messenger plus forums

A: We once considered something like this, but found the resources to support so many third party developers was beyond our scope

Q:Roger, so you check Messenger Plus when you build a new version of MSN Messenger?

A: No. We're relatively certain it won't work, at least, that's the history

Q: Why can't I do x, y, z, feature in multiparty IM sessions?

A: Although this is currently not possible we do believe that support multiparty scenarios is very important and is something we are committed to delivering at some point.

Q: Do you plan to enhance the pocket PC edition of MSN Messenger at all? Perhaps supporting inking from the device would be a good step

A: Actually, PPC Messenger is owned by the MSN Mobile team, and we cannot comment on any possible changes or improvements for that product

Q: Are the Messenger icons ever going to be refreshed to look similar to MSN 9 software and the new look of MSN websites??

A: I assume you are saying you like MSN9's look and feel. You'll see more common look and feel in future.

Q: What is the difference between webcam and video conference?

A: The Audio and Video conferencing features of Messenger rely on underlying Windows functionality that requires a peer-to-peer open connection (no firewalls and few NATs) today. The Webcam feature relies on technology that can also relay audio through a web-like interface, which means users behind firewalls and most NATs can use Webcam. (relay VIDEO, not AUDIO, webcam has no AUDIO)

Q: I understand that MSN is highly committed to privacy so why can't I see who has blocked me?

A: Because whoever blocked you may not want you to know...so that would be a privacy issue for them

Q: When MSN exists 5 years, is there going to be something special, like a new release of MSN Messenger?

A: MSN Messenger's 5 year birthday is coming up on 7/21. We are not planning a release to commemorate this event but are continuing to work on the next release.

Q: Please could you make clear the difference between Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger, your confusing a lot of users like that.

A: Windows Messenger, as the name implies in Windows XP and connects to the .net service and SIP servers. MSN Messenger only connects to MSN service and has integration into Hotmail and other MSN properties. We are working on decreasing the confusion.

Q: why is MSN Messenger so awesome??

A: Because we are as passionate about Messenger as you are.

Q: Why were the bans on certain words in friendly names removed?

A: The solution we had in place was based on parsing every single friendly name - making the service really slow. Besides that, though, it was (1) only done in English, and... (2) it was based on matching strings: as a result, folks could type other characters (like a zero instead of letter o) to get around the filters. didn't make sense to try to make it more restrictive and cover all languages, so we removed it

Q: does msn listen to there users ? or just put in things without thinking

A: We certainly do listen. Some features we've added in previous versions were done primarily because so many people asked for them, and we still consider suggestions today

Q: what the people of Latam cant participate of the MSN Messenger beta?

A: Each beta is different and we're always looking for users who are active in Messenger community to help test future releases.

Q: Will MSN messenger fully support the use of DV cams via firewire or will we always be forced to use a third-party application for this?

A: This is something we have heard about, and are looking into for possibly fixing in a future version

Q: when will msn drop the frames limit for webcams and just have it stream live like?

A: if you can connect peer to peer there is no limit on the frame rate. you need "good" NATs on both sides.

Q: Why is that most of the stuff from the "games" are only available for the americans only?

A: The applications that appear in the games dropdown come from our development partners. The contents in the list are market specific.
Today our partners have supplied us the most choices for the US market. As we get more partners developing games in other markets the choices in markets outside the US will increase.

Q: how do I block people and not still see when there online

A: you need to block the person and delete them from your buddy list. if you delete the person you will also be promted to block them. go ahead and do both.

Q Iam not able to use my camera on pocket pc in msn ? Why ?

A: The PPC Messenger product is owned by the Mobile team, so we really don't know why it doesn't work

Q: What about IPv6 and MSN Messenger?

A: The three degrees (musicmix) capability does use IPv6. We are gaining more experience with IPv6, and there will be more use in line with IPv6 deployment on the Internet.

Q: Is it possible for a messenger community site to somehow become affliated with MSN ?

A: We would like to increase links to messenger community. What do you have in mind here?

Q: How come when you update your phone settings, your contacts will still see your old numbers?

A: Older versions of the Messenger service used to push your phone numbers, Mobile, and MSN Direct settings to all your buddies every time they were changed. The current version of the service sends all that information, and things like if you have a webcam, and sends those when needed (it's how the webcam icon appears in conversation windows). The only setting that doesn't work that way are the phone numbers. These are only updated to your buddies when both you and they are online simultaneously. This keeps the number of updates to our database of buddy data down.

Q: When are you going to offer text chat encryption for MSN Messenger?

A: Windows Messenger supports encrypted IM for enterprises that deploy RTC servers. This is not currently a feature in MSN Messenger. RTC Servers = Live Communications Servers (LCS)

Q: When should we expect to see a new version of msn for mac?

A: Version 4.0 for the Mac just shipped. Its got some great features, check it out at http://www.microsoft.com/mac.

Q: Why isnt the difference between IP restricted NATs, port restricted NATs and other types of NATs explained or described anywhere in the Help

A: Real time answer rom Ali Heron, a program manager in Messenger team : OK, the IETF standard for NATs RFC3489http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3489.txt?number=3489define NATs as follwos IP Restricted Cone NAT Same as a cone NAT, but incoming packets will only be accepted if traffic was previously sent from the inside IP address + UDP port to the ?peer address?, i.e. the source of the incoming packet. Cone NAT A NAT that maps an internal IP address + UDP port pair to a single external value, irrespective of the destination IP address, and that will accept packets bound to that address independently of the IP source address (as long as the mapping does not time out). Port Restricted Cone NAT A port restricted cone NAT is like a IP restricted cone NAT, but the restriction includes port numbers. Specifically, an external host can send a packet, with source IP address X and source port P, to the internal host only if the internal host had previously sent a packet to IP address X and port P. Symmetric NAT A NAT in which the mapping of an internal IP address + UDP port depends on the destination IP address; traffic sent from the same source to different addresses may appear to originate from different ports, and possibly different addresses. Incoming traffic will only be accepted if traffic was previously sent from the inside IP address + UDP port to the ?peer address?.

Q: Will MSN Messenger allow people to disable its tabs (main window, on the left) in the future?

A: You can remove tabs from the main UI in Tools-Options->Privacy today

Q: Roger: how about disabling certain tabs?

A: Sorry, it's all or nothing for now. Perhaps we can rethink that in the future.

Q: (instead of telling people in this chat what all the different types of NAT devices there are....why dont you put that info in the HElp?)

A: Good suggestion, Hofbrau. thx

Q: Will instant message encryption become a feature in the future?

A: we have significant protocol and user experience work to do for this feature. As such, we are not yet at a point where we can project what release will support encryption for all Messenger users.

Q: why does msn messenger mark me as "busy" when I am installing something?

A: If the program you are installing is "full screen" we automatically set your state to busy. The reason is to prevent toast from popping up when you are playing a game or giving a presentation. You can disable this functionality if you want in Tools -> Options -> Personal.

Q: roger: can we have bigger customised emoticons by removing the size limit or increase the size?

A: Not at this time, sorry, but a cool suggestion

Q: Appear offline on sign in mode is in the Mac Version of MSN Messenger, why not Windows?

A: We haven't gotten to this feature yet in the Windows version of MSN Messenger. We are evaluating it for a future release though.

Q: You guys have been making many improvements to MSN Messenger in recent years. When you make a version so superior to AIM and Yahoo that you'd have to be crazy not to use it, will you continue development of MSN Messenger?

A: Microsoft is all about continuing to innovate, even in markets where Microsoft is the clear leader. Competition with other tools just makes it more fun, but it is not the only reason we add features over time.

Q: peterf_MS: Does that mean that instant message encryption will be a feature in the future? I'm not asking for a date or timeframe.

A: I can't say we are doing something unless I can promise a date. Since I can't give you a date/release, we are kind of stuck in giving you guys an answer.

Q: when can we expect "voice-moticons" and personalised status messages?

A: personalization features are key to our users and we are going to aggressivly continue to listen to you guys and add more personalization features in the future

Q: nikki: continue to listen? how do you listen to us, whats the best way for us to contact you and discuss this sort of thing?

A: we look at feature requests from newsgroups, pss, and our mvps as proxies of our users. we will post a better way for sending us feature suggestions on our newsgroups

Q: i would really like to see the ability to record webcams to disc without third party programs, is this feature a possibility?

A: We have never really considered this. The files will be huge. We need to look at this.

A: The scroll bug was once fixed in an earlier version, but it was accidentally reintroduced...we will be looking into fixing it again