Microsoft Debuts MySpace-Like IT Site

snib writes "Microsoft has launched Aggreg8, a 'social networking and collaboration space for the IT community.' Apparently, the owner of the popular open-source RSS reader of the same name sold the domains to Microsoft for $5000 in August in order to host what was then called 'Microcosm.' Microsoft hopes their new service, which utilizes Windows Live ID (formerly .NET Passport) authentication, will become a 'MySpace-like forum for developers to share scripts, tools, or best practices, or even to just connect with others within the profession.'"

Seems a great place to post yer code!

[weteko]

MATERIALS PROVIDED TO MICROSOFT OR POSTED AT ANY MICROSOFT WEB SITE

Microsoft does not claim ownership of the materials you provide to Microsoft (including feedback and suggestions) or post, upload, input or submit to any Services or its associated services for review by the general public, or by the members of any public or private community, (each a "Submission" and collectively "Submissions"). However, by posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting ("Posting") your Submission you are granting Microsoft, its affiliated companies and necessary sublicensees permission to use your Submission in connection with the operation of their Internet businesses (including, without limitation, all Microsoft Services), including, without limitation, the license rights to: copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, translate and reformat your Submission; to publish your name in connection with your Submission; and the right to sublicense such rights to any supplier of the Services. No compensation will be paid with respect to the use of your Submission, as provided herein.

Or; post code for your pet project on this site and we will use it and sell it as our own.

Nothing to see here without an Live ID

[Anonymous Coward]

You cant even browse around without logging in. Sites which require logins for visiting should be boycotted and not promoted on Slashdot.

From the license

[towsonu2003]

"by posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting ("Posting") your Submission you are granting Microsoft, its affiliated companies and necessary sublicensees permission to (...) [pown all your bases]"

What the hell did you expect?

Re:Seems a great place to post yer code!

[calciphus]

Or, as works with EVERY public forum. "Things you post in a public space are public knowledge and use. That's WHY you posted them in a public space, right?" It's not like they'll delve into your Inbox and claim that they can use the content of messages you post. But I'm sure, in order to make MS look like the bad guy, someone is going to claim that they will. Ever notice how much stuff in Apple's forums end up in their FAQ or in future products? Isn't that why people post it there to begin with, so that others (even large corporations) can use it? Am I missing something? If you wanted to sell the source code, why would you post it for free on a community page, regardless of who owns that page?

Re:Seems a great place to post yer code!

[Sr. Zezinho]

Nope, when you submit your code your are licensing it to MS on their own terms, not a license of your choice. Great, eh?

The Software..

[Anonymous Coward]

is community server, the same software powering thedailywtf where users agree that the forum software is the real WTF. Every page is served as text/html with a XHTML 1.0 Frameset DTD, without any frames* and many users call it "unusable". So it's a perfect match for Microsoft. Microsoft probably just threw their hands up knowing that even if they wrote a system from scratch, it could never outdo community server. Thinking about it some more, I take it back. Community server is written in ASP.NET using Viewstate, nobody can ever beat Viewstate for sheer WTF-tasticness. Pffft!

* Possibly to allow for users adding iframes because MSIE doesn't support xhtml object embedding? Still, WTF?

Re:Seems a great place to post yer code!

[rucs_hack]

television is not a forum. A forum is interactive, whereas television is a provider of information and adverts, with no immediate feedback. You are just a consumer of television.

They use the term 'interactive' to describe their news services, but thats just a menu system to move between streams. Can you add news? Nope, except by going postal and getting your very own slot.

Re:Seems a great place to post yer code!

[gregorio]

By that logic, I would loose the rights to my photos when I upload them into Flickr, including giving them rights to use it commercially...

You don't "loose" rights to your code when you post it inside Microsoft's forums. You just give them permission to copy it (aka distribute your message to other users) and do other things (backup your message, allow message searching, yadda yadda yadda).

You people are all missing the point here. The license does not remove rightsfrom you, it only gives MS the right to publish it as a message on a public forum. Without these rights, they would not be able to even list your message after you pressed the submit button.

So it's pretty simple: if you send a message to their forum, you're giving them legal rights to distribute it (using the forum scripts), backup, sort, search, yadda yadda yadda.

Re:Seems a great place to post yer code!

[Barbara, not Barbie]

For public access TV, at least in North America, the cable company gives you a 5 to 30 minute block of time and YOU decide how you want to present your stuff. No ads.