Newbie questions - Need Help - Rich Test, Attachment, Size, Un-subscibe

[Nobby Miura]

Dear Google Groups Owners,

Due to the service termination of Yahoo Groups Japan, I decided to move 5 groups in Toronto, Canada, to Google Groups.  They are sizable groups, one with 1250 members.

After in depth investigation, I still have a few problems in setting up groups in the way we used to have in Yahoo Groups Japan.  I am sure you guys can help.

[] Setting a group for text mode only - I cannot

Information --> General Information --> Posting Options --> Allow users to post to the group on the web 

Then,

Permissions --> Posting Permissions --> Post Rich Text Format --> Non Selected

But, a member can still post in Rich Text mode.  WHY?

[] No attachment option - I cannot

Permissions --> Posting Permissions --> Attach Files --> Non Selected

But, a member can still attach files.  WHY?

[] How to limit the size of post - 25MB is too big

I like to limit the size of posts to, say, 1MB.  But I cannot find any place for the option.  WHY?

[] The owner not informed of un-subscription - How can I detect.

All 5 groups are very close-knit groups in the Japanese Canadian community in Toronto and maintain separate member lists that contain a few other pieces of information than just e-mail addresses, depending on the purpose and activity of the groups.  In Yahoo Groups Japan, it had a separate list of invitation, addition, deletion, un-subscription.  Thus it was easy to maintain the member lists.  I am wondering how I can maintain the member lists when I cannot detect un-subscription by members.  He/She will stay in the member list forever,even if they are not members any more.  Any suggestion?

Nobby Miura

Toronto, Ontario, CANADA

nobby...@yahoo.co.jp

[Sunclad]

On Monday, February 17, 2014 10:31:33 PM UTC-5, Nobby Miura wrote:

Dear Google Groups Owners,

Due to the service termination of Yahoo Groups Japan, I decided to move 5 groups in Toronto, Canada, to Google Groups.  They are sizable groups, one with 1250 members.

After in depth investigation, I still have a few problems in setting up groups in the way we used to have in Yahoo Groups Japan.  I am sure you guys can help.

Setting a group for text mode only - I cannot

I may not be able to assist with everything.

Some of the settings in moderator tools have been discontinued.  How a list is received by the subscriber is now adjusted in the users account settings.  You can switch between "Traditional" and "full" move but this may not result in plain text, but be the difference between how much risk text or images are displayed in what you receive.

 

But, a member can still post in Rich Text mode.  WHY?

This is now controlled by the user's account.  They can select a plain text composition window or rich text.
 

No attachment option - I cannot

Permissions --> Posting Permissions --> Attach Files --> Non Selected

But, a member can still attach files.  WHY?

There should be a moderator tool, either a menu, context menu, or pop-up that will allow attachments to b shut off.  In any event, if you do not want users to add attachments please make that a group rule.  You will also find that if there is an attachment, it will only be transmitted with messages sent to users in individual message mode.  Attachments are not included in the digest versions.
 

How to limit the size of post - 25MB is too big

I like to limit the size of posts to, say, 1MB.  But I cannot find any place for the option.  WHY?

The size of a post is no longer limited.  The system will determine when a digest will be issued as well, either at 25 messages or when a certain number of days has passed and no digest has been issued.  that can be a few days or more depending on how active a group is.

 

The owner not informed of un-subscription - How can I detect.

I do not believe this was ever available as a moderator message in Google Groups.
 

All 5 groups are very close-knit groups in the Japanese Canadian community in Toronto and maintain separate member lists that contain a few other pieces of information than just e-mail addresses, depending on the purpose and activity of the groups.  In Yahoo Groups Japan, it had a separate list of invitation, addition, deletion, un-subscription.  Thus it was easy to maintain the member lists.  I am wondering how I can maintain the member lists when I cannot detect un-subscription by members.  He/She will stay in the member list forever,even if they are not members any more.  Any suggestion?

If a user unsubscribes, they will no longer be seen in the member list on line.  The only way to see the whole member list is to scroll downward continuously until all users are active in the open window.  The system will display 200 at a time.  When you scroll to the bottom of a page the next 200 will be loaded until all are seen.  you can then scroll up and down to maintain th elist.

You can also export a copy of the active subscriber list to a CSV file that can then be opened in Ms Office Excel, Open Office Calc, or any other CSV file viewer to review the list off line.  You may find this helpful for study purposes to search and locate any users whose accounts need attention.

You can control the subscriber list and content to a certain degree, but how a post is sent is a user function.

While Google Groups are similar to Yahoo Groups, they are different and many of the controls are different.  The interface changed when Google attempted to integrate Groups woth Google Plus and create their own form of a social networking experience, but that has not been as successful as Facebook.  The integration has produced a lot of problems for groups operations and some moderators are to happy with the changes because some of their tools went away.

I was not aware that Yahoo Groups in Japan were ended.

Yahoo Groups in the USA now has a user interface and moderator interface similar to that of Google Groups.

[Beverly Howard]

Sunclad,

Thanks for that post... it is very helpful information for anyone
considering using google groups, but, I have to say, the current setup
according to your comments shows that whomever decides on these
settings and options has little or no experience when trying to offer
and administrate large groups comprised of a large percentage of
non-technical users.

"Nobby's" post shows quite clearly that he/she is acutely aware of the
problems that arise as a result of these points not being under the
control of the group owner/moderators, so, your response will be key
if I elect to set up a google groups page.

Yahoo's recent changes were very bad for the number of yahoo groups
that I own or moderate since they have high percentages of non
technical users, so, I am looking at options during this transition as
well.

Nobby, as for yahoo, , I would like to hear more about yahoo
"discontinuing" groups in Japan. Since I can't read Japanese, I can't
comment more about this.

In the usa, the big change was the addition of the word "neo" in the
group url's, so, I wonder if something similar is being done there...

example; https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/....

Thanks again for the detailed info,
Beverly Howard

[Nobby Miura]

Dear Sunclad and BevHoward,

I am glad that people here understand my problems.  

Before I reached this group, I contacted more than a few Google Group owners.  They did not understand my points as they were using the service more or less in a default mode and did not attempt fine tuning.  Of course, Google Groups itself is no help at all.

When I posted the previous message here, as you might have seen in it, I pretty well exhausted any more places to look into and try.  The comments of Sunclad proved that I reached a dead end more or less.

Well, as Sunclad suggested, I am asking the members the following rules (English version) that are pasted in my post as a header

-----------------------

[*] Post in the text mode, not in the HTML (Rich Text) mode.

[*] No attachment other than JPEG files.

[*] Limit the size less than 1MB in total including the body and attachments.

[*] When leaving the group, request the owner to delete your name from the member list.

-----------------------

I am not going to be strict to these rules but these are necessary as a guideline to avoid an out-of-control situation in my groups.

As for the last item, as Sunclad suggested, I am going to download the member list from Google Groups once a month and keep it in my computer folder.  Then I compare it with the next month download on the excel file.  Any deletions (additions) will appear where the lines do not match between two.  It is not ideal but there are no other ways to me.

To Bev, 

I am a male, an engineering scientist in R & D.

Yahoo Groups Japan informed us at the end of last year that their service will disappear on May 28, without giving us reasons and explanations why.  That created considerable chaos and confusions in Japan, you can imagine.  A few ML companies in Japan are offering special conversion services, but I am not taking it.  They are too young and relatively small companies.  After spending considerable time investigating a number of ML services, i chose Google Groups, simply because I felt it is "safe".

If I find something new, I will post it here.

Thank you, guys.

Nobby Miura

On Monday, February 17, 2014 10:31:33 PM UTC-5, Nobby Miura wrote: