The Problem:
Bottom Line: New content cannot be uploaded to Yahoo Groups after October 28 and all user generated content will be deleted from Yahoo Groups on December 14.
Because of the problem and the need to act rapidly as emails sent from the C470 Yahoo Group had become unreliable, I did a quick survey of alternatives (see below).
As the cost of some of the paid options grows with the number of members, I opted to try the free Google Groups.
I set up a beta site and began to test. It quickly became apparent that Google Groups would do all the C470 Group needed to be done.
A message was sent out to all C47@yahoogroups.com members explaining the problems and inviting them to join the new C470@googlegroups.com site.
By the morning of 31 Oct 2019, most of the active C470 members had converted to C470@googlegroups.com and began to use it instead of the flaky Yahoo site.
Cheers,
…Joe Rocchio
See C470 Group Members for membership using C470@googlegroups.com
More Details for those interested.
From Yahoo Groups Site:
Understand what's changing in Yahoo Groups
Yahoo has made the decision to no longer allow users to upload content to the Yahoo Groups site. Beginning October 28 you won't be able to upload any more content to the site, and as of December 14 all previously posted content on the site will be permanently removed. You'll have until that date to save anything you've uploaded.
What features will go away?
Files
Polls
Links
Photos
Folders
Calendar
Database
Attachments
Conversations
Email Updates
Message Digest
Message History
What will happen to the site?
The Yahoo Groups site will continue to exist, however, all public groups will be made private or restricted. Any new group members will need to request an invite or be invited by an admin. Admins will still be able to manage various group settings, though some functionality will be limited.
What will happen on October 28?
On October 28, you will no longer be able to upload any content to the site. To share info with members of your groups, you'll continue to be able to do so via email.
How can I keep my Yahoo Groups content?
Photos and files can be saved right from the Yahoo Groups site, or you can download your data from the Privacy Dashboard.
Will I be able to use Yahoo Groups going forward?
You'll still be able to communicate with your groups via email and search for private groups on the site. In addition, admins will continue to have limited access to group settings and administration tools.
The following information has been compiled from a number of sources:
Yahoo Groups is going through a rough time, users were unable to post new messages for most of week of 14 Dec 2018 and even though the service appears to have been restored there’s still lingering problems.
Even before Verizon’s acquisition of Yahoo, Yahoo Groups was in maintenance mode with no new development being done in years – but now they’re struggling to keep the lights on.
Another Internet relic will soon go dark, Yahoo has announced. Starting later this month, users will no longer be able to upload content to Yahoo Groups, the online discussion boards that launched back in 2001 as an extension of the previous Yahoo Clubs. Though the initial change will only prevent users from uploading, Yahoo has warned that all posts published on the platform will be deleted before the end of the year.
Yahoo Groups is home to a massive collection of aging discussions on a large variety of topics. The boards work similar to online forums, though they’ll be less familiar to younger Internet users. The design is antiquated and largely replaced with typical forums, Reddit, and other similar platforms.
Each group is isolated into its own little cluster where users can view the group’s important details, such as language, the date it was founded, how many members are participating, and related websites. Each group page likewise features a calendar that allows users to easily jump back to messages from past dates.
The platform exists mostly as a piece of history at this point; though there are still new posts appearing in groups, many have gravitated to more modern platforms with better support for mobile and a greater selection of features. Starting on October 21, users will not be able to upload any new content on the platform, according to Yahoo.
On December 14, Yahoo will purge all content uploaded on Yahoo Groups, effectively wiping multiple decades of discussions. The company advises that anyone who wants to save uploaded content will need to do so before December 14, otherwise it’ll be gone forever. The Yahoo Groups site enables users to directly download and save files and photos.
Key Issues for Alternative:
- Pricing
- Controlling Access
- Reliability
- Ability to search messages
- Archiving of messages
- Retention of former Yahoo C470 Group email archive.
Options:
Gaggle.email
Pricing: $16/mo for 160 members
Onlinegoups.net
Pricing: $32/mo for 160 members
Freelists.org
Pricing: Free
Google Groups
Pricing: Free
Group.io
Pricing: $220/yr for premium group
Like everyone, we were taken by surprise when Yahoo announced they will be shutting down Yahoo Groups in just a few short weeks. Groups.io runs a world-class email groups service and has quickly been recognized as the best migration option for Yahoo Groups users. We are flattered by this recognition, and have been overwhelmed with traffic and group transfer requests as a result. We have spent the days since Yahoo's announcement diligently adding new server capacity and starting to work through an unprecedented number of transfer requests.
Fortunately, Groups.io has always been built to scale and already has a user base in excess of 1 million users today. In order to accommodate this major growth phase while maintaining our excellent service levels and industry-leading functionality, we will need to adjust our pricing as follows. As of 9AM Pacific Time, October 22:
- The annual fee for premium groups is $20/month or $220/year. (Premium groups in existence before that date are grandfathered in at their current fee.)
- As is already the case, all transferred groups are required to be premium groups for the first year. The $220 transfer fee counts for the premium fee, so once having paid the transfer fee, transferred groups are exempt from paying the premium fee for the first year.
We welcome the opportunity to elevate the groups email experience for Yahoo users. We are committed to making the migration process as seamless as possible. Thank you for choosing Groups.io.
Thanks, Mark
Note: The original message specified changes in new free groups. Those changes have been rolled back.
Test Google Groups Site
