Yahoogroups

[kaysixteen]

Yahoo has just made public its plans to kill its yahoogroups email lists by December.  I actually have about 15 of these, most since the late 90s.  Most have many less than one post a month, many none at all for quite some time by now.  That said,  I do like having them and was wondering if anyone had any ideas for alternative places to set something like these up?  Yahoogroups are of course free to run, and I'm just not motivated enough to spend any money for replacement alternatives.

[Hegemony]

The Yahoogroups that I used to be on, and that are still active, have gone over to Googlegroups.  Which are essentially the same thing but in some ways with a more user-friendly set-up.

[mamselle]

Is there any charge for them?

I might know an interested friend with an art topic she wants to open up to online conversation.

M.

[downer]

2 months seems a short time period to kill off something that affects so many people. I run

[polly_mer]

Is there any charge for them?

I might know an interested friend with an art topic she wants to open up to online conversation.

M.

Google groups are free to start, but you do need a Google account.

https://www.dummies.com/education/internet-basics/what-is-google-groups/
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/56256?hl=en (How to create a Google account)
https://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Google-Group

[downer]

I own a couple of groups. Yahoo didn't even send an email to group owners about this. And there is just a week to try to notify members about alternatives. It's all very annoying!

[polly_mer]

That short notice is the killer.  The CHE gave us adequate notice to move, but a couple weeks is hard.

For those who want to read more: Understand What's Changing in Yahoo Groups

No new content can be uploaded to the website after 28 October, although the mailing lists will still be operative.

All content on the sites will be deleted on 14 December.

[mamselle]

Is there any charge for them?

I might know an interested friend with an art topic she wants to open up to online conversation.

M.

Google groups are free to start, but you do need a Google account.

https://www.dummies.com/education/internet-basics/what-is-google-groups/
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/56256?hl=en (How to create a Google account)
https://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Google-Group

Thanks!

I think her email is a gmail account, so that would mean she would just be able to start one, right?

I've just forwarded the info. Appreciated!

M.

[hmaria1609]

I'm subscribed to one for the neighborhood where I work; it's an active list.  I set it to receive posts in digest format so I get one or two of these a day.
For me, I use it to post upcoming events of interest at the branch library to the group.

[downer]

I'm not a fan of Google groups. People experience a lot of problems trying to sign up.

[polly_mer]

I'm not a fan of Google groups. People experience a lot of problems trying to sign up.

So what are the other alternatives?  I tend to run with techie crowds who just run their own listservs and maintain their own sites.  I'm not the person to give advice on user-friendly alternatives to Yahoo Groups.

[downer]

I'm not a fan of Google groups. People experience a lot of problems trying to sign up.

So what are the other alternatives?  I tend to run with techie crowds who just run their own listservs and maintain their own sites.  I'm not the person to give advice on user-friendly alternatives to Yahoo Groups.

I'm sure that all sorts of alternatives exist. The problem is finding free good ones that are likely to exist for a long time. In the long run, it is probably simpler to work out the problems with the Google groups, which hopefully will exist for many years.

Of course, many universities provide listservs for faculty use. I belong to a bunch. But I don't have a FT job at this stage, and I don't want to start something up that I will lose if I stop working at a place. It's also rare to find a university IT dept that communicates well on a reliable basis. I'm not sure why -- maybe something to do with a high turnover of staff.

[0susanna]

I'm not a fan of Google groups. People experience a lot of problems trying to sign up.

So what are the other alternatives?  I tend to run with techie crowds who just run their own listservs and maintain their own sites.  I'm not the person to give advice on user-friendly alternatives to Yahoo Groups.

Groups.io is an alternative that seems fairly robust. They offer a free level for creating a group, but if you want to transfer, they are now requiring a one year premium subscription--probably because of large amounts of content being transferred. The premium account can lapse at the end of a year.

[mamselle]

Hmmm...this time, wondering for myself...does WordPress have groups?

Never thought about it but I can see one part of my stuff that might do well to have that.

My friend, by the way, had been on a couple Y-groups and didn't know they were going out.

So she thanks the thread for the heads-up, and for the backup info, and is looking at alternatives as well, now.

M.

[Anselm]

Sudden changes in policy with little time for adjustment is a sign that a company is in trouble or being mismanaged.    At least that is my cynical observation.  I notice this with eBay with whom I have a love hate relationship.  Of course it could be much worse such as having your email cut off by your employer one week after graduation with no warning.   I am also an alumnus of the same school and they still have the nerve to ask me for money.