Welcome...

to the web page for the Talk About Groton email list, dedicated to conversations about Groton Massachusetts. The list started in 1998, and became a Google Group in 2007. At this writing, in May 2020, there are about 2000 members, which is more than half the households in town. The list was originally sponsored and paid for by The Groton Line, until that publication stopped publishing. Now it is a volunteer effort administered by a small group of volunteers.

To participate, you need to join this Google Group. After you're registered as a member, you can send a message (with Groton content) to talkaboutgroton@googlegroups.com. More information on the group, including a few list rules, is available here (scrolls down). If you're considering joining the group, please take a couple minutes to read that.

To post to "TalkAboutGroton," send e-mail to talkaboutgroton@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, e-mail: talkaboutgroton+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For archives and to manage your account: http://groups.google.com/group/talkaboutgroton?hl=en

Any questions, contact me, Art Campbell, the list owner, at artc@artc.net .

If you don't have a Google Account
Visit https://www.google.com/groups/signin to create a free, secure account. Once you've done that, you can click the Groups link on your home page or gmail page to join any group (including this one).

To change your email address

The email address to which the group sends your messages is specified in your master Google account settings...
If you need to change your email address, you need to make the change at the Google level, at https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount. You can either add a new address to your account, or replace an account. After you add an address, wait several minutes for the information to move through the (many) servers. Then, on that same page, click Manage My Subscriptions in the Groups area, and check your Talk About settings. If the change hasn't rippled downstream, edit your Talk About Groton account setting to point to the new email address.

I don't see my messages

When you send a message to the list, it isn't echoed back to your email, so you won't see it in your Inbox. If you're not sure it posted, visit this page -- it's a good idea to bookmark it in your browser -- and then look at the list of discussion topics, below, to see if your message made it.

If you're a new list member or one who doesn't post often, your first messages will be delayed for moderation until we know you're not a spammer or a robot. ;- ) The moderation queue may take a few hours or overnight because the volunteer administrators aren't online 24/7, but they'll take care of it the next time they're online. After a while, your account will become unmoderated.

About Digests -- Important!

The digest is a feature of the mailing list that many people use, but you do have to remember that you're in digest mode when replying to messages.
Otherwise you send a collection of all the messages in the digest to all ~2000 or so people on the list, and they don't have a clue as to what you're talking about because you didn't change the Subject line.

Further, it stops anyone from replying to you because your reply is too large to process -- because it includes a herd of messages.

To Reply to a message within a digest:

Either

* Just come back to this page and click Conversations.
* Select the message to which you want to reply, and click Reply.
* Type your reply message and Save. The message will be emailed to all members of the list.

OR, working in your computer's email program:

* Click Reply All.
* Edit your reply's Subject field so that it contains the subject of the single message you are replying to. For example, do not send a reply that says Subject: RE Digest XXXX. Instead, cut-and-paste the subject of the message to which you're replying into your reply.
* Almost all mail tools include the entire original Digest in a reply. DO NOT DO THIS. Edit your reply so that only the specific message you're replying to is included. In addition to making your reply more readable, many mailers will not pass messages larger than the size of the digest. (But don't delete the names of previous writers; people following the thread like to know who said what.

About the List
The Groton Email List is used by a group of area residents who trade messages and information about living, working, and playing in Groton, Massachusetts. The list is free and open to all. The list is owned and operated by Art Campbell. (Who you can reach at artc@artc.net if you have a problem with the list.) Generally a pretty quiet group, we've traded thoughts on everything from recommended plumbers to tax levies and contra dancing. Welcome!

What Is A Mailing List?
A mailing list is a service provided by a computer that allows a member of a group to send an electronic mail message to all other members of that group. Of course, anyone can do that if they know all the people they want to address . . . but in this case, a software program on a central semi-public computer keeps track of list members and their electronic addresses. A message to be shared is mailed to the central address. The mailing list server (the central computer) copies the message and mails a copy to each member of the list. When any member of the group sends a message, all members receive it and can reply either to the group or privately, to the sender. Typically, a conversation, or thread, develops as messages flow back and forth among members of the mailing list.

Archives
Although the list has been around for about ten years, archives of messages before 2008 are not available. If you are a member, archives of messages are available through your personal account management page.

Rules & Etiquette

Because this is intended to be a fun mailing list where people can freely discuss whatever's on their mind, rules are minimal. In place of rules, try to avoid saying anything on the list that you wouldn't yell at the top of your lungs at a town meeting or in a crowded bar. If you're new to mailing lists, or even if lists are old hat, try to remember that if you're mad about something that someone else posts, not to reply immediately. Sit on the message for a few hours and reread it before you deliver a scorching missive that invites a flame war.

The Rules
* For ease in communicating with others and to keep the list software and the list administrator happy, post messages as plain text. HTML and formatted text are processed, but not everyone can receive them cleanly. Please try to avoid sending large photo files or attachments about Groton -- instead, send the URL that people may use to view or download them.
* This is a "restricted" mailing list, which means that only people who are members can post to it. It also means only members can see who is subscribed. If you are a member, you can send an invitation to someone else who'd like to join, using the "Invite Members" link in the menu on the right.
* It a "moderated" list, but this feature of the software is turned off, except for new members. This means that no one approves messages before they're sent to subscribers, but if something weird (spamming, hate mail, anonymous posts, etc.) happens that requires someone to read messages before they're dispatched, someone will.
* Personal attacks on list members won't be tolerated and will probably result in someone being dropped from the list. Criticism of public officials in their roles as officials, even if they are list members, is tolerated and even encouraged, but foaming at the mouth personal attacks are not.
* And finally, the "Brooks Rule:" This is the Groton Mailing List. Please post content that is related to Groton in some way. If you'd like to send a test message, post queries about the health benefits of natural yogurt, or share cute anecdotes about whoever is president, make very sure that they have some Groton content or are directly related in some way to Groton. If you can't do that, please search the Internet for a more appropriate place to share your thoughts.

* [OT] usage If you want to share something related to Groton, but not strictly Groton content -- a festival or sale in a neighboring town, for instance, please begin your Subject line with OT, meaning off-topic. This preface makes it easier for people to filter out message they think wouldn't be interesting.

* If you're representing a company or other enterprise, please identify your affiliation clearly, even if you're posting about that enterprise as yourself.

Businesses

The rule for "advertising" on Talk About Groton has always been that news and notices from Groton businesses have always been welcome because businesses are part of the community. There are no hard-and-fast rules on what is enough or too much. In general, more than once about every 10 days tends to trigger some email to admins and creates a negative for the business.

Most often, when people have felt that the level was reached, they let me know and I let the business know. That is the policy. In general, it seems as if a post about once a week or 10 days keeps everyone in the loop and isn't too much, so that's been the general rule of thumb for the past 6-7 years. No change is anticipated.

As always, people posting on behalf of a business, club, or group must clearly identify themselves as an owner/employee/rep/member.

That's it!
Enjoy,

Art

All contents of this WWW page and site are Copyright © 1999-2024 by Arthur Campbell

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