Since 2009 Microsoft’s Code of Conduct has been applied to more and more of their online service. If a service is covered by this Code of Conduct, users of it are prohibited from using it in  “any way that promotes or facilitates the sale of ammunition and firearms” (See bullet point #13).

Almost all of Microsoft’s online services are by now covered under this “Code of Conduct”. These services include Windows Live, Office 365, Microsoft Sharepoint, Bing.com, Outlook.com, Windows OneDrive, Exchange Online, MSN and a number of other services.

The only major Microsoft services this does not apply to is, at the time of this blog post, Skype, Microsoft Azure and XBox Live. I expect Skype will eventually fall under the Code of Conduct.

Windows OneDrive, formally known as Microsoft SkyDrive, is built into Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8 for Phones and Windows 8 for Tablets. If you work in the gun industry you should avoid these products. You could wake up one morning to find your account terminated and all your emails, contacts, calendar etc. deleted.

Windows Live powers a number of Microsoft services including Microsoft’s cloud email and cloud Office suite. Windows Live, Outlook.com and Exchange Online power many large institutions including colleges and high schools. Don’t use any Microsoft-hosted email systems to buy or sell guns, unless you are willing to risk getting kicked out of college (especially if you have signed documents agreeing to abide by Microsofts Terms of Use)

If you use Microsoft Office in your gun business, make sure you do not use the Office 365 service to share business-related files.

Here at TFB the only Microsoft service we use is Skype. If Microsoft bans gun-related business over Skype, we will most likely switch to Google Hangouts.

It is sad to think that the Gun Club @ Microsoft was once a relatively large club. Point and Click no more.