Another Google notice (oh joy, oh joy) - Groups
FWIW, maybe of note to some who will migrate elsewhere but continue to use Google Groups (which has been mentioned as one continuing alternative to some other Google "products"). Not - yet - a death notice, as I was expecting, though there's time for them to decide to only continue as enterprise-based.
Ah well. FYI.
I had a feeling this was coming so I included it in the backups
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to dejanews?
ReplyDeleteThis reads as if they're rolling out another major version, nothing like they'd be shutting it down.
ReplyDeleteGerhard Torges I was sad when they deemphasized the Usenet connection. Maybe we should just go back to Usenet. There won't be a troll or spam issue, it's federated, and everyone can keep as much or as little of the data as they want. Usenet: The Original Federated Social Network
ReplyDeleteThat's true, Akira Yamanita.
ReplyDeleteUsenet has served me very well for years.
Akira Yamanita What do you mean? The Usenet was full of trolls. Not much spam because advertisers didn't realize what it was but lots of trolls.
ReplyDeleteSonickid Gaming No memes, please.
ReplyDeleteMichael Fenichel Is there a link to a webpage for this somewhere?
ReplyDeleteEdward Morbius - It was an email, sent to my G-mail account (I don't see anything useful in the source.) But... this screenshot is the entirety of it. Nothing more. The link is to their help section, generic. Mostly about "settings".
ReplyDeleteI haven't done anything with groups for a long while, but they're still set up with me as owner, so... I guess it will be publicly posted before long. (Did they learn anything from their G+ approach?).
That's it. Headers to the email:
From: Google Groups
To: [yours truly] @gmail.com
Subject: We’re changing your Google Groups settings experience starting May 6, 2019
Date: Feb 8, 2019 2:12 PM
PS... One odd thing... They say it's just a friendly heads-up. And there's no way to do anything now, so they suggest we look at what they've done AFTER the changes. Helpful!
I did not know there were Google Groups outside of Google Plus.
ReplyDeleteShawn H Corey Perhaps in some of the groups at a certain point during its heyday (especially when it was accessible via DejaNews), but I’ve never experienced that. Anyway, I’m talking about the present. It seems like a small target for trolls, especially if you’re running some obscure group.
ReplyDeleteMichael Fenichel Found it elsewhere:
ReplyDeletehttps://support.google.com/a/answer/9191148
support.google.com - Announcing changes to Groups settings - G Suite Admin Help
Edward Morbius Yup, more detail than came in the email. Oh Gawd, they really do spend time on these handy user guides! (sigh)
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteJust got this notice about Google groups. Should be interesting. Wonder if it is somehow related to Google+ going away. I have a few small Google groups and they work pretty well though I find many people just don’t quite get what it is or how exactly it works. Which is weird because they’re pretty much like listservs.
Anyway here is what they sent:
Dear Google group owner or manager,
We’re writing to let you know about changes we’re making to the settings experience of Google Groups.
In response to your feedback, we’re updating the Groups’ settings experience starting May 6, 2019. The goal is to make it easier for you to manage and configure your groups.
About these changes
We’re removing some rarely-used settings and features, and we’re combining similar settings. Learn more about the settings changes.
We’ll start rolling out these changes on May 6, 2019, though you might not see changes until May 21, 2019.
When the changes take effect, we’ll automatically update the settings for existing groups to map to the new experience.
Important notes
Some group members may lose access to group management features. Depending on your current settings, some group members who currently can access specific group management features may lose that access. To make sure group members have the right access, you may want to audit your groups and adjust the settings before May 6, 2019.
Settings for groups you currently own or manage will be updated to match the new settings. Note: You can change your group settings at any point.
Groups you create after May 6th will have the new settings by default.
We recommend you audit your groups settings after the changes to confirm your groups are set up the way you want.
If you need help, visit our Help Center.
Sincerely,
The Google Groups Team
© 2019 Google LLC. 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043
Tara Tisinger
ReplyDeleteGoogle Groups started out as nothing more than dedicated mailing lists a L O N G time ago.
Andrew Hatchett Googlegroups started out as a rebranded DejaNews a LONG time ago. They then morphed it into a (bad) competitor for yahoogroups. They then created a custom interface for bits of it to use as Product Support forums. They are now migrating all the support forums off G+ and other places to Googlegroups.
ReplyDeleteSo now we can expect a series of UI updates, security fixes, updated privacy controls. And then in a couple of years, they suddenly announce it's closing down.
I tried to read the email and announcement, but it didn't make immediate sense or obviously apply to me, even though I've got a couple of test groups created years ago. I still run 3 groups on Yahoogroups but only one is active. The other previously active one has effectively moved to Facebook. IMHO, GoogleGroups never caught up with Yahoogroups. And Yahoogroups is dying.
There's nothing nefarious about the changes. It reads clearly that it's about changing a few settings and roles.
ReplyDeleteok. so for fun i just created a group. It has some neat features (although it felt like i was in some weird Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark-should-i-really-be-here-and-why-are-all-these-gold-nuggets-just-lying-around place). It has rich text, potential whole web visibility and either topics or hash.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we can set up a camp here :)
groups.google.com - Google Groups
Tara Tisinger Google Groups have existed for a while as a way to communicate within a "real" social group. Several organizations I've been in switched to them from Yahoogroups (which still exist but are mostly inactive).
ReplyDeleteGoogle Groups is still the main place for public Google product "support".
ReplyDeleteKim Nilsson
ReplyDelete;)
For G Suite users, the public support has their own place over on CCC.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cloudconnectcommunity.com
Kim Nilsson
ReplyDeleteInteresting... no https ?? !!!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ui2zaR8KU6htbiDISOZ9unBAKzYiFg5_6r0bZn1BrljjixG6R5KgPoyQEjiGTxdZCBTHXGBC1Mg9blo=s0
Andrew Hatchett ahh, there should probably be a www in front.
ReplyDeleteI never understood why people still use that prefix, or why they don't have a redirect from the "naked domain" to the www, if it's needed.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if they'd dare to kill the legacy of Usenet... but with Google you never know.
ReplyDeleteKim Nilsson In fact, if you type the "naked domain" into your browser's Address Bar, it will usually supply the "www.-" prefix automatically.
ReplyDeleteMy question, rather, is: how does the World Wide Web differ from the full Internet? (That's off-topic for here, probably, so answer me privately, before the site disappears.)
Steve Vasta
ReplyDeleteShort answer from Wikipedia...
"The World Wide Web ("WWW" or simply the "Web") is a global information medium which users can read and write via computers connected to the Internet. The term is often mistakenly used as a synonym for the Internet itself, but the Web is a service that operates over the Internet, just as e-mail also does. The history of the Internet dates back significantly further than that of the World Wide Web. Web is the global information system."
Those of us who were online before 1991 can remember well the introduction of the World Wide Web - we were in heaven !
Steve Vasta yes, that's my point. Naked domains should either work or redirect, not fail.
ReplyDeleteTrue, today it is not necessary to type the www if you include http:// or https:// I see the stats to my websites, and it is interesting, with or without the www. When I am working (adding images for example) sometimes the WYSWYG editor will not show an image using www. as the target, but if I remove it, all is fine. Sometimes the opposite. Funny.
ReplyDelete#ConsiderationsAndFeatures
ReplyDelete