IMHO ...

M$ could care less about protecting children from internet predators. its kinda obvious that this is nothing more than a $$ plot to squeeze a little more from the people. I use messenger on a daily basis and sometimes venture to the chat rooms but would never pay for it. If Yahoo! follows in that direction then chatters are pretty much screwed. But an event like this could make Yahoo and other places even more popular as people seek chat alternatives.

Talkcity.com was popular back a few years ago. its where i first got to chat. they decided to close down and the new management started to charge people as well as charge for the use of clients like mIRC. they never regained that popularity they had before. this reminds me of a chain letter emial i got once upon a time about ISP's wanting to charge postage for long distance emails ..lol ... the way things are going, the good 'ol days of the net are slipping away.

needless to say this chat room tantrum m$ is having is just ridiculous. it wont even make a dent in the pedophile situation. but then again, thats not the "real" motive behind the closure in the first place.