"So, are yahoogroups "non-core" do you think?" Topic

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And if they get binned, how would you replace them?

Honestly, they have always been a poor product. The sign up process is a pain, and the layout is not that user friendly.

Blogs seem to be the better alternative.

The groups are so last century.

Various forms of social media can replace it.

Ouch: from the article: "shutting down…properties that don't contribute meaningfully to engagement of revenue….."

Blogs seem the way to go, but then if it is all about revenue, how much longer will those free services survive…..?

Well, since I hate blogs (I learned to read top to bottom, not search for the top of the bottom, read top to bottom, then search up for top of the next bottom), and most "user friendly" forums (multiple clicks just to find a thread you might be interested in, then parse through the $*&^@ signatures that are cute the first time)…

I rather like yahoo groups. The sign up is less of a hassle than most forums, and it does have a search feature (even though it isn't the greatest). The threads are presented in an orderly manner (if you get the daily digests). All of the new content is presented in one easy to read email (if you get the daily digests). And the interface is consistent across groups (which forums certainly are not).

I'll shut up now and return to my corner, thanks for letting me vent.

good move, get people into this millenia..

Wargamers are well known for their rapid pace of change and welcoming of new ideas…

Blogs, tmblr, Google groups, mailing lists, Facebook or G+ pages (or even just circles on Google+), and these are just the options I can think of off the top of my head.

We would have to look at getting a club group forum on our website.

Our club had installed a forum (and I think it's still there…), but frankly everyone was happy with the Yahoo Group so we kept it.

I won't mind switching to something else, but it's not a big deal either way.

Is rec.games.miniatures.misc still floating around?

I have to disagree, I like Yahoo Groups although I could see where the execs at Yahoo might decide to give it the ax. Of course Mr. Thompson would not state which features were in his sights to be done away with. I will note there are tons of ads and other clutter on Yahoo Groups eagerly screaming for your attention so I have to at least assume Yahoo Groups does generate some revenue.

so I have to at least assume Yahoo Groups does generate some revenue

Maybe not, if nobody ever clicks on the ads. I totally ignore them. Personally, I like Yahoo Groups, if for no other reason than I can go to one site to check up on a variety of topics.

Doug

"Is rec.games.miniatures.misc "

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although we decommissioned our usenet servers six years ago.

It also seems to have morphed into a google group.

Personally I always hated the yahoo groups forum tech, but the file hosting is handy. I'm quite happy with digest email lists for most of my traffic from yahoo.

Groups is one of the better data honeypots they have with many of them containing some of the most engaged audiences outside of yahoo mail. I don't see them going anywhere soon.

The Society of Ancients has created a member forum which may ultimately replace its Yahoo group. The functions are not identical, of course.

The Forum is more image friendly and more thread friendly, but some still prefer the easy email participation of the group.

So, for the moment, it looks like they may have both side-by-side. Along with the blogs feed Planet Ancients.

Something for everyone, and an insurance against change?

Phil Steele (Press, Shows North)
The Society of Ancients
soawargamesteam.blogspot.com

rec.games.miniatures.historical link

rec.games.miniatures.warhammer link

rec.games.miniatures.misc link

Full of rubbish and spam

I'm with Stryberg. I never use social media and rarely got to blogs. Loss of Yahoo Groups would greatly limit the utility of the Internet in my life.

I would be sad to see them go. We have one for our club and it's a very nice format for us. For smallish groups where every message is intended for all/most members. Yahoo groups are great. For lack of a better term, it's a more intimate format for sharing.

If yahoo groups closed and we had to switch to a forum, it would certainly make our group activity seem less. 10 messages in a week makes a yahoo group seem active. 10 messages a week makes a forum seem dead.

As relates to blogs, I think they are a completely different tool with different uses. We have a club blog:
chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com
and it's where we post our how-to articles, pics of minis/terrain, commentary, AAR's, etc for public consumption. It's not an effective inter-group communication and discussion tool.

If yahoo groups closed and we had to switch to a forum, it would certainly make our group activity seem less. 10 messages in a week makes a yahoo group seem active. 10 messages a week makes a forum seem dead.

… get everyone signed up as co-authors of a blog, then … 10 posts a week on a blog is positively feverish. NB Your blog would not have to be public, but it could be (just as with a Yahoo group)

>Loss of Yahoo Groups would greatly limit the utility of the Internet in my life.<

I have to admit I find this point of view baffling. Yahoo Groups are nothing more than mailing lists with a central archive and a kludgy search feature. Not at all difficult to replace even without resorting to social media.

Blogs are not discussion forums which is the only real value to the Yahoo groups. Blogs are great for stream of consciouness type posts, but for anything structures they are impossible to navigate.

Blogs are not discussion forums

I would be possible to use Facebook Pages for a club or interest group and then add the Forum for pages app.

Other things would be possible but using Facebook right now allows me to see Pages activity as part of my overall news feed and get notifications.

I've always disliked them primarily due to the signup process.

Having used Yahogroups or the equivalent for almost 15 years, I like them and they suit their pourpose very well.

I signed up once 10+ years ago, and that was that – Facebook wants a haeck of a lot more from you, and keeps trying to prompt you for even more data.

Yes a Forum organizes content better by topic, but it is MUCH less spontaneous, and doesn't handle friendly banter well at all, and that is a paret of the "commiunity" feel of a group that most Forums lack… IMHo.

I don't trust facebook at all with my data, etc

If they could have decent galleries on a blogs (at least one that was easy to find/use), then I'd visit them much more often. Srtyderg is spot on.

There was nothing wrong with Usenet, until all the morons started posting -- and even at that, killfiles worked pretty well.

Still, we all have to pretend to believe in the myth of rapid technological progress, so I must express the hope that in maybe five or ten years time internet discussions will advance to the point that they are as good as they were in the mid to late 1990s.

I wonder if anyone else remembers bit.listserv.fnord-l, or The Sick Kids on soc.games.dungeons-and-dragons, or wherever it was.

And what, really, can match the thrill of dicovering that someone has forwarded a posting of yours to alt.humor.best-of-internet?

Now, you kinds get offa my lawn.

John.

There was nothing wrong with Usenet, until all the morons started posting -- and even at that, killfiles worked pretty well.

Still, we all have to pretend to believe in the myth of rapid technological progress, so I must express the hope that in maybe five or ten years time internet discussions will advance to the point that they are as good as they were in the mid to late 1990s.

I wonder if anyone else remembers bit.listserv.fnord-l, or The Sick Kids on soc.games.dungeons-and-dragons, or wherever it was.

And what, really, can match the thrill of dicovering that someone has forwarded a posting of yours to alt.humor.best-of-internet?

Now, you kinds get offa my lawn.

John.

Usenet was full of nasty folks the day after it came online in 1980! You all have short memories. LOL. I first went online in 1980.

The first email list I created was on ONElist back at the end of 1997, when it came online. Then it merged with eGroups, which I remember disliking. Then Yahoo bought it in 2000 if I recall. So I've been hosting email lists since day one. Yahoo has threatened to shut down the service many times. Maybe this time they're serious. Doesn't bother me. After 15 years, I've grown tired of doing it anyway.

would be possible to use Facebook Pages for a club or interest group

My wife's motorcyle club tried the FB approach.

Big disaster. FB wanted waaaaaaay too much info and
the group lost over half its members, all of whom
regarded the FB approach as too intrusive.

They've gone to a forum called 'meet up', IIRC.

I run Dragontooth and Archive miniatures collecting groups – couldn't see a blog working the same way.

I subscribe to a number of yahoo groups. The one I look at regularly I get email for and filter them into folders. That way I can look at them when I want and the discussions are all threaded for me my the email client. The ones I go to rarely, I go online and do searches for what I am interested in. I hate the web interface for yahoo groups and find it much easier to navigate using email folders than online.

I started with the internet with most of my time on newsgroups and email lists. So I still use yahoo groups like email lists. Forums have replaced newsgroups but with different interfaces. I liked newsgroups. Ah well.

If yahoo groups went, I guess existing forums would fill most of the void. Yahoo groups have the advantage over forums of easy file storage and links.

I would miss yahoo groups, but would survive well enough. I survived the death of newsgroups for gaming easily enough. I don't think gamers would discuss any less if yahoo groups disappeared.

There is push and pull. Pushing of data to people like a Yahoo group does through email will always generate more contributions since it's served up to people in their email and posting something back is dirt simple.

When you use a pull mechanism like a forum, you will only reach the people who make the effort (or remember) to visit the site. It works for TMP but there are a ton of forums out there that wish they could do half as well as a Yahoo group when it comes to traffic.

Both have their good and bad points.