Nested Groups - Emails Bouncing
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Matthew Shirley
Mar 13, 2026, 7:29:50 PMMar 13
to GAM for Google Workspace
Hoping someone else has a better solution for allowing nested groups the ability to deliver to their members (from higher level group).
Background info:
We recently had to revamp permissions and restrict sending/replying to group emails to managers only. This prevented long or inappropriate email threads going to many staff constantly. This also created a bigger issue...Google does not allow Groups to be managers (within other groups), therefore causing bounced emails.
The groups are nested as such:
*All-staff
+Bldg1staff
-Bldg1classified
-Bldg1licensed
-Bldg1contracted
+Bldg2staff
-Bldg2classified
-Bldg2licensed
-Bldg2contracted
+Bldg3staff....
etc
The Problem:
Background info:
We recently had to revamp permissions and restrict sending/replying to group emails to managers only. This prevented long or inappropriate email threads going to many staff constantly. This also created a bigger issue...Google does not allow Groups to be managers (within other groups), therefore causing bounced emails.
The groups are nested as such:
*All-staff
+Bldg1staff
-Bldg1classified
-Bldg1licensed
-Bldg1contracted
+Bldg2staff
-Bldg2classified
-Bldg2licensed
-Bldg2contracted
+Bldg3staff....
etc
The Problem:
*Email logs show when "user1" emails the "Bldg1staff" group (is a manager), any direct members in the group receive the email, but bounces when delivering to the subgroups (Bldg1classified, Bldg1licensed, etc)
Our solution:
We have had to add each user that is a manger of a higher level group, as a manager of each subgroup with the "delivery nomail" command like this:
Our solution:
We have had to add each user that is a manger of a higher level group, as a manager of each subgroup with the "delivery nomail" command like this:
gam update group *GROUP*@central.k12.or.us add manager delivery nomail user *USER*
This is a ridiculous task even if using group lists as csv input for the gam command. Not to mention when a new staff member needs to email "all staff"
Our Hope:
There is some other way through GAM to make subroups Managers of the groups they are a part of, or another Google Admin setting or Gam command that allows subgroups to deliver/forward emails from the higher level groups. *without a complete overhaul of our groups structure or permissions* Thank you for your time and brainpower, as mine is gone.
Our Hope:
There is some other way through GAM to make subroups Managers of the groups they are a part of, or another Google Admin setting or Gam command that allows subgroups to deliver/forward emails from the higher level groups. *without a complete overhaul of our groups structure or permissions* Thank you for your time and brainpower, as mine is gone.
Ian Crew
Mar 19, 2026, 2:51:56 PMMar 19
to google-ap...@googlegroups.com
It's not really possible. See https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DfTbCOml3mv2CM4NoaKUyBr3tx8P8tHxPv6nhssYxYU/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.6mraeobu7ox4 for an overview of potential workarounds I wrote a number of years ago for UC Berkeley. ("CalGroups" is Berkeley's implementation of the InCommon Grouper groups management system.)
Hope that helps,
Ian
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