Using Groups as a public e-mail distribution list

[Eric Barringer]

I have had a request to create a public mailing list that anyone can join without staff intervention - just a one-way mailing list that one person can post to.

I have created the group with the restrictions I want, and what I would like to do at this point is set up a form to allow families to join the group.  I have a subscription box set up - enter your e-mail address, it sends that e-mail address a confirmation message, and you join the list.

However, if the user is not signed in to Gmail, it brings the user to the district's Google Apps login page and requires the user to log in (with a district or other account) before it will process anything.  I do not want this to be the case, as not everyone who wants to subscribe to the list will have a Gmail account.  I was able to subscribe my Yahoo account to the list, but only because I was signed in to my Google Apps account at the time.

Is there a better way to accomplish this?

-Eric

[HEBDave]

My guess is that this should be done on the consumer version of Google Groups, instead of a Group created in GAFE. Even if the members of the public aren't going to be allowed to post, it still feels like adding them to a group within what's supposed to be a walled garden is a bit risky; a future change in Groups/GAFE features or an accidental change in the settings could unintentionally give the public access to more info or features than they should have.

Most school districts I'm familiar with seem to use a service like Constant Contact or MailChimp to send out email newsletters and such. If a consumer-grade Google Group works, that would be an appealing option.