Microsoft is moving its Windows Live support to online forums, which sounds like a step down, until you realize that it was previously email-based.
Today, Microsoft announced changes to the way Windows Live customers will receive support. Beginning on March 10, support for Windows Live Services will move from e-mail to a community forum. This means that consumers and partners will experience quicker resolution times and will be able to leverage our extensive community forums to post or answer questions, view service alerts and find solutions.
Through forums, customers will have access to information and answers 24/7, to help them find information when they need it, from a broad community of peers, technical experts, MVPs and Microsoft support moderators. Support moderators will be available to assist in managing the flow of information within the community, ensuring the overall health of the community, and engaging with users on complex technical problems or safety issues that the community cannot resolve.
The transition from email to forum support will begin today for English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian and Japanese customers. By the end of March, all Windows Live Services customers will be fully supported through community forums in fifteen currently supported languages, as well as in nine new languages.