Yahoo! Maktoob representatives said the announced shutting down of 27 Maktoob websites and forums will be carried out gradually.
Although the announcement was made in the middle of last week, the forums are still operating. A message to users on forums such as Al Farasha Space which is among the targeted forums, conveyed that the decision will be effective from May 27.
The users of those platforms were notified and requested to copy their content off the site and consult the Maktoob site to join remaining services and platforms. The websites that are going to shut down include Seen and Jeem which have a Yahoo corresponding site, Yahoo! Answers, and Zoom, which is similar to Flikr.
The closure decision also extends to at least three Islamic forums, three forums within the female targeted Al Farasha portals and five from Sh3bwah forums for online games and downloads.
Yahoo! Maktoob gave no clear reason for the decision, following news already in circulation on the web since the middle of last week. Having sent an e-mail to its users in the region, Yahoo! Maktoob announced that 27 websites and forums under the Maktoob portal would shut down.
Ahmed Nassif, Vice-President and Managing Director at Yahoo! Middle East said in e-mailed responses to Emirates Business: "As part of Yahoo! Maktoob's commitment to the Arab World, we will constantly review our product offerings to ensure the very best in end user experience and the winding down of some previous products and services is a normal part of this process.
"We will continue to offer a variety of content on Yahoo! Maktoob... We will always look to offer the most rich and relevant content for our audience."
By Dima Hamadeh
© Emirates Business 24/7 2010
