While the results have yet to be tabulated from the survey we sent out last week, asking all you writers how you use tech, one thing is clear: a whole lot of you use Facebook Groups to build your literary communities.
While we didn’t ask about Yahoo!, their group functionality was one of the first to come online to the wild, wild internet in the late nineties and early aughts. They’re making some large-scale changes to how Yahoo! Groups operates, so on the off-chance you’re still part of one listserv or another, we thought we’d pass along this e-mail we received last night from Yahoo!
Dear Group Moderators and Members,
Last month we notified you of the changes coming to Yahoo Groups that better align with user habits, and today we are providing an update to guide you through the next steps of the transition. Yahoo Groups is not going away – but we are making adjustments to ultimately serve you better. We are amazed at the vibrant community you’ve created through Yahoo Groups and we want to make sure you feel supported as we introduce these changes.
The following changes were made since our last communication:
• Users can now only join a Yahoo Group through an invite or group request approval by the Group Moderator.
• New Groups can’t be public. They can only be private (not listed in Groups directory, membership by invitation only) or restricted (listed in Groups directory, membership requests must be approved by a Group Moderator).
• Members must share all content via email, and can no longer upload or host new content on the Yahoo Groups website itself.
The following changes will be made on December 14, 2019:
• Public groups will no longer exist. All existing public Groups will become restricted Groups that require Group Moderator approval to join.
• Any content that was previously uploaded via the website will be removed.
If you would like to keep any of the content you’ve posted or stored within your Yahoo Group, please download it by December 14 by accessing the Groups Download Manager at this link. Once you provide your preferred email address, we will send you a confirmation of your download request and notify you once the download is complete.
You will receive a link to a downloadable zip file via email for each of your Groups organized into a separate folder. Download time varies depending on the amount of information and file size.
If your download request is made by 11:59pm PST on Saturday, December 14, 2019, your content will not be deleted until your download is complete. We are unable to accommodate any download requests made after this deadline.
This is the final reminder to download your content. You can find additional information about the upcoming changes here.
We have worked extensively with our customer support team to develop recommendations for tools that can help you with any download issues. See help article here.
We have watched the evolution of Yahoo Groups with awe, as we grew to a community of millions with over 10 million Groups. Every day, we witness the power of community and shared passions, and our mission is to provide a platform for the strong connections people make with each other around their interests.
We thank you for being part of the Yahoo Groups community and look forward to continuing to provide ways for you to connect with one another about your shared interests and passions.
Sincerely,
The Groups Team
So, key takeaways: public groups are gone, and if you want to save any content you’ve uploaded to a Yahoo! group in the past twenty years, you have until 11:59 pm on Saturday, December 14, 2019, to retrieve it before it disappears forever. Godspeed!