TWC used to get quite a few mails asking us why we were not covering Windows 8 leaks and news on The Windows Club. The reason was that, TWC was a MFC. Plus as an MVP, I was bound to a certain code of conduct when covering unofficial leaks of any Microsoft products.
Moreover I did not want to give too much credence or importance to the leaked wallpapers, login screens, features etc which would any case change once the public beta was announced. But then ofcourse these are my own personal views on this subject and not many may agree with it.
I have now just read an article at Neowin, where it is being reported that many Windows 8 based websites and Twitter feeds are facing closure.
Now Microsoft may or may not be behind this move. I leave that to you!
What is important is that sites who were very actively involved in leaks like Winreview.ru, PCPortal.org.ru, etc have been shutdown with a cryptic message: Account locked: Violation of exclusive rights to Microsoft.
wst-place.ucoz.com and staforceteam.clan.su have also been closed down, both stating the reason as “Violation of Exclusive Rights to Microsoft.
Ultrawindows has removed its Windows 8 images. I also understand that MyDigitalLife has removed their Windows 8 forum/posts/images too.
The Twitter feed from user @Canouna posted earlier on that the site has had all of its threads about Windows 8 deleted and that they would like all sites who have used pictures and images from MyDigitalLife to remove them from blogs and forums.
Although many reputed news sites and blogs still appear to be displaying the leaked Windows 8 images, at the time of writing, this sure looks like a major crackdown websites talking of Windows 8 leaks.
While closing of such websites may be the first salvo fired by Microsoft in its fight to stop such leaks, the question which is more important is WHO internally is leaking this information to these websites! In all probability it could be someone from Microsoft or someone who is associated with its in-house beta testing program. WHY it is being leaked, one can guess!
What steps Microsoft takes to stops these internal leaks is something we will never know! But we only hope that such leaks, which are not in the interest of Microsoft, will stop and the people responsible taken to task.
Feature leaks during any products development stage are not good. Plus too much hype too early in a product development stage, could create fatigue right now itself. And the excitement would be missing when Windows 8 was actually launched. Moreover all such talk of Windows 8, could make some users planning to upgrade, sit on the fence to wait-and-watch.
I have seen that content from some blogs run by MVPs, has also been pulled down in some cases, while on others, it continues to remain. It is therefore also possible that such MVPs covering the Windows 8 leak could come under the Microsoft scanner, as this possibly violates the MVP Code of Conduct. Again, I repeat, Microsoft may or may not be behind this move.
The Windows Club will start covering Windows 8, and include a Windows 8 section in the forum, once its public beta is launched.
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