Groups IO announcement 

Hello Everyone,

A change is coming in our email list. Due to increasing blocks and bouncing by various email providers attempting to “protect” you from SPAM, and a need for a better email provider, we are changing servers soon. You will receive an invitation to join the “new” group but until then we’ll remain “as-is”, don’t worry you’ll receive adequate notice with clear instructions on how to sign up for our neighborhood email list. There may be “test” emails going out, just FYI. We are hoping for a smooth transition and an end to the delays/bounces/blocks and general limitations we’ve been experiencing over the past year+.

Debbie & Apo, moderators.

Change, why is this done?

• Most email providers have become hostile to email lists in the name of preventing spam.  While our list never generated spam, we are still treated like one of the millions of spammers. Emails are randomly blocked or bounced and email providers like gmail, apple, yahoo, … do not offer any support to lift restrictions. Switching to a dedicated provider will alleviate this as long as we keep the list clean from spam as we always have.
• Our current service has limitations that make it cumbersome to manage and use.
• Our current service is at the end of its life. There is no development to add new features or make helpful changes.

What will to change?

• Email address of list will change from share@montaloma-post.org to   share@montaloma-post.groups.io (or this short alias montaloma-post@groups.io)
• An email to reach moderator(s) and admins will change. It will be in the signature at every email for reference. share+owner@montaloma-post.groups.io 
• The main website to find the list, guidelines, signup, unsubscribe, …. Is changing to https://montaloma-post.groups.io/g/share (the old site will stay active for time being. It will take time to update links and our printed newsletter and we will make sure the old site is no longer needed before shutting it down)
• The signup process will move to a new site and will be basically the same as our current list, except that the UI will change

What will stay same?

• Simple email list with default settings will still work the same. No  service account is required to use as is with our current setup. Only new features and advanced settings will need a login.

What is new?

• There will be many new features. These will require an account to use at  https://groups.io/g/montaloma-post/editsub
  • While still a traditional email list groups.io offers an experience similar to Internet forums when used from a web browser or your phone app.
  • You can be reading and sending emails from web interface at https://montaloma-post.groups.io/g/share instead using an email client.
  • An email to the list will be converted to a “Topic” when seen on the website. 
  • A topic can be muted by a user. For example: power outages create many follow up emails. A user outside the affected area can select this option to  get less emails. A link to change a topic to mute will be at bottom of each email from the group.
  • Good News: There will be an addition of several digest options. Select on website  https://groups.io/g/montaloma-post/editsub 
  • Archive is enabled and accessible to all members. It is not public on the internet for privacy reasons. Reach at https://montaloma-post.groups.io/g/share/topics 
  • Subgroup for discussions is discuss@montaloma-post.groups.io  subscribe at https://montaloma-post.groups.io/g/discuss Only members of subgroup can post and receive emails. All members of main group can read the discussions on the web if interested.
  • Other subgroups can be created on demand. There are many ways a subgroup can work and operate. Allmost all settings can be independent from main list. Also guidelines can be different and topics that are banned on main list may be allowed.  Please contact moderators share+owner@montaloma-post.groups.io if interested to form a group or move  existing community lists to groups.io 
  • Certain topics require hashtags. This makes filtering messages into categories easier for everyone and it allows different settings for each hashtag. Hashtag can be added at begin of subject line. Currently defined in list below, please create and use new hashtags simply by adding it to the subject line.
    • Emails offering free stuff use: #free 
    • Emails offering items for sale use:  #sale 
    • Emails to confirm item is gone or sold: #taken 
    • Emails for recommendations of contractors, services, restaurants and other business: #recommend 

• Hosting costs are higher. Currently the moderators are paying out of pocket for this service to the neighborhood. If you find the list valuable please consider to pay for hosting costs at https://montaloma-post.groups.io/g/share/sponsor 
• Wiki is enabled to provide guidelines and a space for special collaboration on local projects or initiatives. All members can edit to add more information and add new pages. Access at  https://montaloma-post.groups.io/g/share/wiki/39711  Only some special pages are be restricted to moderators. The existing wiki on localwiki.org  will not change. 
• Large picture will be resized to max 1024×1024. Users can choose to limit picture size in emails even more and get links instead of attachments. No more need to scale picture before sending an email to the list.
• More options for moderators to make topics more accessible or restrict if necessary. As moderators we can lock specific topics that do not serve the neighborhood locally, are inflammatory, etc. We may move topics to subgroups,  Over time we will adjust usage as needed. We will have a trial and error period getting used to this new email list format.
• Other features from groups.io. are: Polls, Calendar, Photos, Files, Chat. Some are enabled by default others are not active. Contact moderators  share+owner@montaloma-post.groups.io if interested to use any of these or change the settings.

When and how will the switch happen?

• Phase 1: We’ve started the process and the  system is up and running, getting ready to be used list-wide. A few users have been testing and adjusting the setup already.
• Phase 2: Starting now. Please signup at https://montaloma-post.groups.io/g/share to  help test and provide feedback. Users can send and receive email, create login/password as needed and send test emails. Topics created during this time will be removed from the archive.
• Phase 3: timeline TBD. After problems found in Phase 2 are fixed all current subscribers will be invited to the new list. We have to ramp up slowly to let everyone accept the invitation and to ensure a smooth transition and  acceptance by email providers occurs. Emails during this time will not reach everyone yet. Please continue to use current list during Phase 3
• Phase 4: Move current email list to standby mode and announce the official switch to new list. Emails sent to old list will be returned with a message to use only new list.

What if

• A current user does not want to be a member of new list? When a user is added an email is sent for confirmation. If you decided not to transition into the new email list, simply ignore the invitation.
• I never receive an invitation. Be sure to check your spam folder. Still no invitation found? Dont worry we will repeat the invitation and call for feedback on current list to make sure no one is missing out. And if necessary add users manually.