[Mod note: GMF has a no solicitations policy, and for that reason prior requests similar to this one have been rejected. However this seems like an unmet need so we've updated the Moving to Groups.io wiki page (linked below) to include a section for those who offer an upload service to provide their contact information.

We ask that members seeking such services refer to that page rather than posting their personal contact info in this group (remember, our archives are available to the public). No endorsement of any kind is implied. The wiki page is editable by moderators only, service providers should contact the GMF Moderators through the +owner address to be included on the page.]


Hello,

On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 03:21 PM, June Genis wrote:

Initially all my groups will be interest subgroups of the main group.? At the moment I don't see the main group as having much of a role to play although eventually, when there are enough users total it could be useful for announcements like changes?to the monthly activities calendar after?it has been published.

Everyone in a subgroup must be a member of the main group.

How about making your main group an annoucement group? Only owners or moderators will be able to post to it. (This could be changed later.)
Or making the default subscription for the main group Special Notices only. (Disable "no mail") That would allow you to post occasionally to all group members, but would discourage posting by other members. (Not stop posts but they would rarely get email from the main group.)

Inviting members to the main group - you can invite or you can direct add (if your group is a premium one). I know that some people just get premium for a month to set up their group and revert to free.?

Or you can encourage them to email your group using the Subscribe email address. You can also set up a Pending Subscription notice sent to all who do it that way. You could give a list of subgroups and ask them which they want to join.

Inviting members to a subgroup - you can direct add them from the main group, if you know which group the members would like to join. Your group does not have to be premium for direct adding for subgroups.
Again, set up a default subscription in Admin, Settings. The individual member can tailor it to their own needs / preferences.

Since you may not know which subgroups members would like to join, you could also send out an announcement to all, giving the subscribe email addresses for all of them, with a brief description. Or perhaps an email for each of the subgroups.

If you use a subscribe email address, it will mean that you have a bit more work to do, since you will have to approve each new member if it is a restricted group. But might be an easy way to do it.

I plan to start each new subgroup by invitation and want to make sure that I include in it anything they really need to know about using the group but without drowning them in details about unneeded options.? One of the things that they will need to know is now to set a username different from their email address as some of the volunteer testers I have already collected have address that don't really tell you who they are.? They will also need to know how to set whether they want individual messages or a digest.? Is there anything else I should tell them about?

Getting them to set their DISPLAY name is challenging. You can ask them if you use a Pending Subscription notice and then you set it.

If you want to tell them how to set it:
They will need how to log in without a password. (I wouldn't encourage them to set a password.)
/g/GroupManagersForum/wiki/Logging-In

Go to Subscription on the left side of the group homepage.
Click on the second button - Group Profile.
Click on Edit Group Profile.
Click in Display Name and type in their preferred display name.
Scroll down and click on Update Group Profile.

(You could tell them that they can add an image or tell a bit about themselves. But that might flummox some!

Really, many people use Groups.io without visiting the group homepage. They can change their subscription by email.
/static/help#what-are-the-available-email-commands

Hope this helps. Before my retirement, I was a public librarian who did a lot of web training for seniors so I know that just doing what's necessary is best!

Frances

?

?

I have been using email lists since the days of the original LISTSERV that ran on big IBM computers (and usenet before that) but I have never administered a list. Although I was a programmer on those old dinosaurs? I'm really just an end user in this new age of personal computing. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

?
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Moving to Groups.io (without easy transfer)

GMF Wiki: (unofficial) Help for members (and would-be members) and group managers

Ann,

On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 02:28 PM, Ann Wild wrote:
Thanks---I know that is possible, but I prefer the personal approach. My real question is what generates the email address [my email name = xxx . com @ groups.io] when I do send a personal message from my xxx . com address. That is not an email address I want or one that anyone can reply to. I need to know what generates it so I can avoid it.
Just so others can more easily see your issue, here's your first email:

When a member tries to subscribe to our group, I write to that person via my own private email,

Via your own private email from your own Email Provider/Client?
If not, why not?

but using the address from the pending member list,

to the Pending Member's email address (right?)

to request the information I need to allow that person to join. The bothersome part is that the email I send shows as coming from my this address: my email name@... and NOT simply my own private email address.

If you want it to simply come from your private email address, why not send it:
From: your private email address
To: the Pending Member's email address
CC: [email protected]

Additionally, you could explain and request that the Pending Member 'Reply All' so that you and the other Owner and Moderators receive their response.
(Of course, you will still have to go to your Group's website to approve, delete, reject, or ban the Pending Member)

Michael

开云体育

On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 02:28 PM, Ann Wild wrote:

Thanks---I know that is possible, but I prefer the personal approach. My real question is what generates the email address [my email name = xxx . com @ groups.io] when I do send a personal message from my xxx . com address.? That is not an email address I want or one that anyone can reply to. I need to know what generates it so I can avoid it.

Just so others can more easily see your issue, here's your first email:

?
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Moving to Groups.io (without easy transfer)

GMF Wiki: (unofficial) Help for members (and would-be members) and group managers

Thanks---I know that is possible, but I prefer the personal approach. My real question is what generates the email address [my email name = xxx . com @ groups.io] when I do send a personal message from my xxx . com address.? That is not an email address I want or one that anyone can reply to. I need to know what generates it so I can avoid it.

Check out our GMF wiki!

There is a search box at the top of the wiki pages that searches only the wiki. Useful if our table of contents doesn't do it for you!

For setting up your group, see: ?/g/GroupManagersForum/wiki/Quick-Start-for-Group-Formation

This page points out important issues and links to other wiki pages, official help and previous post.

• Once you make your group message archive private, you cannot later change your mind and make it public again.
• What's in Admin:
  • settings - customizing your?group
  • default sub (subscription) settings
  • cover photo (for your home page)
  • notices (editable invitation notice, welcome, etc.
  • member sync (for Slack)
    
• Spam control settings
• The Directory and the Members list

And help for members and owners alike, such as logging in without a password:
/g/GroupManagersForum/wiki/Logging-In

The wiki also has help for customizing your own account - changing email address, adding an email alias, your preferences, as well as info about your subscription.
/g/GroupManagersForum/wiki/Profile-and-Email-Address-and-Merging-Accounts%2C-Subscription

And some known issues with email providers.
/g/GroupManagersForum/wiki/Email-providers---issues-and-tips

Feel free to direct members to this information. No need for them to be a GMF member. (They don't even have to have an account with Groups.io to read it.)
/g/GroupManagersForum/wiki/home

And of course, GMF is here with peer-to-peer help. Ask or check out the message archive using the search box on the message archive page or the hashtags.

Frances

• Moving to Groups.io (without easy transfer)

On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 11:30 AM, Nick Kempley wrote:

Two questions arise:

1. Do we know how many failed email deliveries are required to trigger bouncing status? If it is only a few I can send another couple of special notices and flush them out.
2. Can the full details of members, including their email history, be downloaded such that I can filter and identify all that should potentailly be deleted?

1.? It takes one bounce for them to get a blue B.? Check the details at /static/help#bouncing

2.? Using the Download button at the top of the Members page will give you a csv file with a column User Status, including bouncing and bounced.? You can only get the details by looking at their member record.? Remember though that they may be bouncing on another group, so you won't even see which messages bounced.

Duane
--
GMF's Wiki: /g/GroupManagersForum/wiki
Help: /static/help
Search button at the top of Messages list
A few site FAQs: /static/pricing#frequently-asked-questions

On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 12:29 PM, Ann Wild wrote:

When a member tries to subscribe to our group, I write to that person via my own private email, but using the address from the pending member list, to request the information I need to allow that person to join.? The bothersome part is that the email I send shows as coming from my this address: my email name@... and NOT simply my own private email address.? Yesterday, because of that, I was unable to reach an icloud.com pending member on my PC and had to trying again on my iPad, which worked, but is not usable for some other actions on groups.io.

My question is what generates this email address and how can I avoid it?? No one can reply to it, and I don't want it.? I just want replies sent to my private email unless there is a way to reply to the owner address. (I copy all these messages to the owner address.)

Ann, why not use a Pending Subscription notice?
You customize it anyway you want, including hyperlinks. Goes to your group owner email address.
Much of it is automatic, after you set it up.
/g/GroupManagersForum/wiki/Screening-New-Members-Using-the-Pending-Subscription-Notice

Frances


?
--
Moving to Groups.io (without easy transfer)

GMF Wiki: (unofficial) Help for members (and would-be members) and group managers

hi,
I found after the migration here of my Yahoo group, that many more members were showing as 'bouncing'. I set up a sticky topic warning all members, flagged as 'special', to check their settings in November, with intent to delete such entries at the start of 2020. The deletion of those that remained unclaimed has now been done. I am now trying to ensure that all members have a display name set to a useful value. Checking some that are set to 'special email only' with no display name reveals some that have email history errors, yet are not flagged as bouncing. I presume there is some minimum number of errors required to trigger the bouncing status. Two questions arise:

1. Do we know how many failed email deliveries are required to trigger bouncing status? If it is only a few I can send another couple of special notices and flush them out.
2. Can the full details of members, including their email history, be downloaded such that I can filter and identify all that should potentailly be deleted?

Thanks, Nick

When a member tries to subscribe to our group, I write to that person via my own private email, but using the address from the pending member list, to request the information I need to allow that person to join.? The bothersome part is that the email I send shows as coming from my this address: my email name@... and NOT simply my own private email address.? Yesterday, because of that, I was unable to reach an icloud.com pending member on my PC and had to trying again on my iPad, which worked, but is not usable for some other actions on groups.io.

My question is what generates this email address and how can I avoid it?? No one can reply to it, and I don't want it.? I just want replies sent to my private email unless there is a way to reply to the owner address. (I copy all these messages to the owner address.)

You might want to consider setting their Email Delivery to "Special Notices Only" instead of "No Mail". That way you can still send them an email if needed.
Tom

On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 04:20 AM, Samuel Murray wrote:

On 08 Jan 2020 05:11, Gerald Boutin wrote:

By the way, I
generally don't bother with that solution and just do what you do, which
is to paste text into the spreadsheet.

My solution does not involve pasting into the spreadsheet (although I
seem to recall someone else made such a suggestion).

My solution is to open a blank worksheet and (in Excel 2016) use Data >
Get & Transform Data > Get Data > From File > From Text/CSV. In Excel
2003, it's Data > Import External Data > External Data.

Samuel

Samuel,

My apologies. I missed your explanation while I was skimming earlier posts.?Excel certainly has many ways to skin a cat. I've been using Excel since Office 97 and gotten used to how some things were done back then.

--
Gerald

On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 05:00 AM, M Parker wrote:

Is there any way that this can be achieved as a bulk operation or must it be done on an individual basis?

Sort of.? You can select the members using the checkbox to the left of their Member line, scroll to the bottom, use the Actions box to select 'Change Email Delivery', then select No Email for them.? You'd need to do this for each page where those members show up.? Depending on how many members you have, this might not be as simple as it sounds since there's no easy way to get them all on one page (unless they're the only ones set to a particular delivery method, then you could sort by that.)

Duane
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GMF's Wiki: /g/GroupManagersForum/wiki
Help: /static/help
Search button at the top of Messages list
A few site FAQs: /static/pricing#frequently-asked-questions

I have some 90 members whose email delivery I wish to set to No Email. Is there any way that this can be achieved as a bulk operation or must it be done on an individual basis?

Margaret
UK

On 08 Jan 2020 05:11, Gerald Boutin wrote:

By the way, I generally don't bother with that solution and just do what you do, which is to paste text into the spreadsheet.

My solution does not involve pasting into the spreadsheet (although I seem to recall someone else made such a suggestion).

My solution is to open a blank worksheet and (in Excel 2016) use Data > Get & Transform Data > Get Data > From File > From Text/CSV. In Excel 2003, it's Data > Import External Data > External Data.

Samuel

Thanks Frances. I used my gmail address as an alias. When I post from that address, which would normally be rejected as a non-member, the posting shows up coming from my subscribed address. Works like a charm.

On Tue, Jan 7, 2020 at 04:12 PM, Samuel Murray wrote:

On 07 Jan 2020 19:12, Thomas Gruber wrote:

the ?C“ is the abbreviation for ?Comma“ - and Excel handles files
with the ending .csv correctly if the columns are delimited by
commas.

Well... I've had some problems getting Excel to split by comma with
quite a number of CSV files lately. In my cases, Excel just puts
everything from each line into the first column, and if there are tabs,
it splits at the tab, despite the fact that it has a CSV file extension
and the file is otherwise well-formed CSV. If you can get your Excel to
open your CSV files correctly, then I'm glad for you.

This is why I was happy to discover the method of importing CSV files
into an empty Excel file via the Data tab.

Samuel

Samuel.

What you are seeing is Excel trying to be smart and save you time by automatically doing the text to column conversion for you.

Once Excel has imported a csv file the first time, it remembers the settings that you used to convert "text to columns". There are more details how to make it stop doing this at the URL below. By the way, I generally don't bother with that solution and just do what you do, which is to paste text into the spreadsheet.


?
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Gerald

On Tue, Jan 7, 2020 at 08:56 PM, Don Grass wrote:

If editing is allowed will the group get a copy of the edited post like they did from the original post?

As Frances mentioned, a moderator has a choice.? If the member edits it, it always gets sent.? Members that aren't aware of that sometimes make small edits to a post to get it 'just right', resulting in numerous messages to all the other members, causing confusion or consternation.? One of our group rules is that if you make an edit, do it once!? A couple of folks have been put on moderation for doing it anyway.? Other groups disable editing.

BTW, mods/owners can always edit a message, even if the member that posted it can't. When a mod/owner edits, a copy is sent to the poster.

Duane
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GMF's Wiki: /g/GroupManagersForum/wiki
Help: /static/help
Search button at the top of Messages list
A few site FAQs: /static/pricing#frequently-asked-questions