In addition to powering email service through Google for Non Profits, the East Kingdom Webministry is also powering mailing lists using Google Groups based lists. This FAQ serves to answer some of the repeatedly asked questions.

What do I need to do as a part of this conversion?

    Mailing lists need to be owned by an individual or individuals using an East Kingdom email address. They cannot be owned by individuals using personal addresses, or by groups. Often a list is related to an office, and so the easiest thing to do is to list that officer as the owner. If it is unclear which office should own a mailing list, we suggest listing your branch webminister as the responsible party.

Does Google Groups do (x) thing that Mailman Lists did?

The answer is yes. The Webministry has done a thorough investigation of the options available, and found that Google Groups can be configured to replicate the features of a discussion list, an announcement list, a public list, a private list, a list with archives, a list without archives, a list configured to send replies back to the list, back to the individual, off to a different address, moderated lists, unmoderated lists, et cetera. If you feel your list is an unusual case, you are invited to email help@helpdesk.eastkingdom.org to ask about what it might take to replicate your exact use case.

Do list members need to have an East Kingdom email address?

No. Only list owners have this requirement.

How can I subscribe to an East Kingdom Google Group mailing list?

Each Google Group has a web page for subscribing at https://groups.google.com/a/[branchoroffice].eastkingdom.org/group/[listname]/subscribe (e.g. https://groups.google.com/a/eastkingdom.org/group/east-discuss/subscribe or https://groups.google.com/a/webminister.eastkingdom.org/group/wmstaff/subscribe). You can also send an email to [listname]+subscribe@[branchoroffice].eastkingdom.org (e.g. east-discuss+subscribe@eastkingdom.org or wmstaff+subscribe@webminister.eastkingdom.org) from the email address you want to subscribe to the list. You can also send an email with “+unsubscribe” to unsubscribe from a list.

I love that I can find my group on https://groups.google.com, but looking at the web interface it isn’t very obvious how I can participate without using the web interface. Can you help?

    While we can’t alter the Google Groups interface, we can help get you the information you are looking for. Once you’ve opened your group in the web interface, click on the ‘About’ link on the rightmost side. This will take you to a page with additional information about your group, including the email address you can use to email the group. If it is a public group you can also find the RSS feed for the group.

It looks like there isn’t a digest mode any more?

    To allow list members to receive a batch of the days messages all at once, Google requires archives be enabled. Archives can be private, but they must be enabled for this.

I think I am a list owner, but how can I manage the list?

    First, make sure that you are logged in to Google using your members account. It is unsurprisingly common that a list owner might also be subscribed to the list with their personal (non-East Kingdom) Google account. This means you’ll be able to see the group, but not manage it under your personal account. Once you are signed in under your East Kingdom Google account, you’ll see the ‘manage’ option in one of two places – on the page listing your groups, or in the upper right region of the page if you are within a group page.