Yahoo Groups Shutting Down - Dec 14, 2019 (UPDATED)

[morgandawn]

(Updated Oct 25, 2019)

Starting Oct 28, 2019 no new files (photos, documents, etc) will be allowed to be uploaded. Starting Dec 14, 2019, Yahoo Groups will be limited to emails only - functions like digest will be eliminated and all files and photos will be deleted. Admins will have limited tools and all groups will be invite only. And archives of existing messages will not longer be accessible.

What To Do?

I have a step by step guide here. The short version

1. Admins - back up your Groups and decide whether and where to move
2. Members - back up your Groups - don't leave this to the admins.
3. Everyone - consider documenting Yahoo Groups on Fanlore, help spread the word

The OTW has made an announcement. Their Open Doors preservation program is open to  providing storage of Yahoo Groups backups that are assembled by moderators and non-moderators alike. Details here.

Fans are gathering on a Discord Channel to chat and ask for and give help:  https://discord.gg/ek2xFyJ (updated invite)

Please follow the Yahoo Group Rescue Tumblr for updates

 

Comments

[doranwen]

Two quick questions, assuming you're the one who put together the Google Form for archiving documentation:

Some of the groups I have been backing up are marked restricted and requiring mod approval to join. However, as soon as I *apply* to join, I'm able to view the messages (though not files/photos), and that is still true even if I'm denied membership. Should I mark this group public or private? None of the options seem to properly fit…

For the question "Have Moderators Announced An Archive/Transfer Plan?" what do I do if they're talking about it and haven't decided yet? I've been putting "no" because it's not a "yes" yet, but that requires me going back to deal with it; it's definitely not the same "no" as in "there's been no activity for five years and who knows if the mods are even alive anymore". I almost want a "It's Under Discussion" button to select, lol.

[morgandawn]

In that case, mark them Semi-public: Who the heck knows how Yahoo is managing group access and whether what we're seeing on the Group info page is accurate (or if the moderator changed the Group access). I am going to add a Notes field to the form to capture stuff like that.

And adding a Under Discussion button is a great suggestion

[doranwen]

Well, there definitely is a difference between public and "you can see the messages but you haven't properly joined" because with the latter it won't let me get files or anything. It's kind of like a public group without joining, I guess - where you can see the messages but you can't access anything else.

:thumbs-up: I'll be sure to edit my responses appropriate for the groups where that's happening, then, once you've got that implemented. At least that'll indicate that those groups are aware of the situation and may want the archives to go somewhere. (I'm going to be storing my backups in a private Mega.nz folder and giving direct links to whichever moderators request them. Though if they want the db3s I'll have to figure out how to remove my password from the file first.)