YahooGroups Concerns

[Anakalia]

Is there anyone here currently using YahooGroups to host an email group of any kind?

 

I'm owner of at least one such group.

Seems to be lots of functional issues lately and I'm not finding a lot of info on how to remedy the problems other than moving to a different host.

Also seems to be fewer options for such hosting than years ago.

In questioning group members about where else to go, many are reluctant to be on Facebook, even if the Group is set to Secret or Closed.

 

Questions:

1. Anyone here know anything about the likely demise of yahoogroups?

1a. And any info about an actual date that such may happen?

2. What other email group hosting exists?

2a. Free group hosting?

2b. Paid group hosting?

3. What's involved in getting something like this forum set up for a relatively small but worldwide group using a variety of devices & platforms to access the group?

3a. What sort of costs would be involved with that?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

PS - If moderators feel this post is better added to a different category - please move it and let me know.  I really wasn't sure where to put it.

 

[Anakalia]

Mods: THANK YOU for moving this to the most appropriate group.

 

 I was hoping for more response by now - at the very least I thought someone here would know something about what's involved in getting something like THIS forum set up.  

 

The group I'm most concerned about is a small group of less than 100 sisters from around the world fighting to remain loyal to Jehovah while suffering various mental health issues. 

 

We're now working on a transfer to groups.io - similar group email platform; but different, so I'm spending a lot of time learning how it works. They do seem a bit bogged down right now but my understanding is that it's due to the high numbers of yahoogroup owners doing the same thing I'm doing. Many of those groups are much larger - running into 1000s & 10000s of memberships. I'm thinking we'll fare better with a more manual (hands on) transfer. That begins with roughly 100 personal emails from me letting them know about the changes and helping them get subscribed to the new group.

 

This seems worse than the chaotic changes - way back when - with eGroups & ONElist - if anyone recalls those.

But I must help my sisters! Times are getting so difficult! Satan is fighting relentlessly against us! Jehovah has us safely in his arms - but with mental illness sometimes that is very hard to perceive.

 

Any thoughts & suggestions are still most welcome!  

[Kristian]

On 2/10/2018 at 12:29 PM, Anakalia said:

The group I'm most concerned about is a small group of less than 100 sisters from around the world fighting to remain loyal to Jehovah while suffering various mental health issues. 

I think I've seen one like that, but there were more members in the group.

I have joined a group in Yahoo, called t-tools, I'm not so active there, just wanted to see what kind of tools are there for the ministry because I was searching for sth back then.

 

I cannot help you really with Yahoo groups.

[Anakalia]

Thank you Brother Kristian,

 

Right now I'm not up to learning something else so new, no matter how simple. 

 

I'm curious how that t-tools group is doing there. They were a fairly big group at one time.

 

The few others I'm connected to are having similar issues. One went over to Google Groups awhile back though but never deleted the yahoogroup. Not sure about what the others are planning to do. The other groups I'm owner of haven't had activity in awhile so I'm deleting them as is. Most of the sisters in those groups I've been in touch enough that I know they aren't interested in the old inactive group's purpose. Like I said - it's the one group of just under 100 sisters that concerns me most. And it's looking like we're just going to keep working on the transfer to Groups.io and hope that works for us. Yahoogroups' functions are failing - hit'n'miss (mostly 'miss') at best - can't invite to the group, can't pull up files, or full databases, photos are there one visit and gone another, files too - gone one day and back another, or not (some have been "blank" or "empty" for a week now). And I've just discovered today that many members haven't received messages from the group in years! They thought the group was gone! But they don't show as bouncing or any problems with the address - and it looks like they are regular, active members with settings that say they would get emails from the group - but they haven't been getting them & it seems attempts to email the group never came through either! They did reply when I emailed directly. So there's been multiple failures with yahoogroups for a long time now - stuff that has nothing to do with the people trying to use the group.

 

Maybe email contact is losing it's appeal. Texting and messaging seem to be more desired. But those work best for short, quick messages. With email - like with this forum - a person can write much longer posts and provide better details & context to what they are typing. That's what my group is about - short & quick may work at times, but mostly we want to talk a lot! 

There doesn't seem to be as many options for hosting this kind of contact as there used to be.

[Kristian]

I understand. Well, I wish you figure it out. Groups.io seems pretty legit so I'd like to hear an update on that of how it went .
Have a nice day!