9/30/13 6:29 PM

I'm working on a project where there are a number of people involved and there are a number of emails going back and forth. Needless to say those emails mix in with lots of other emails that people get and one person has suggested I form a Google Group to "consolidate" all the emails on this topic so that it is easier to keep track of this project.

My problem is threefold:
1. I have never participated in a Google Group and so don't know how things work.

2. I assume I would have to ask everyone to "join" and some people might be reluctant to join yet another system that seems to drag you in (like LinkedIn). I don't know that Google Groups does this but it would be a reasonable suspicion.

3. I don't know what's involved in setting up, administering, and maintaining a Google Group.

Any insights anyone can offer would be appreciated.

9/30/13 7:09 PM

I've been in google groups a few times. They aren't like an octopus, it's more like a mailing list.

From a user perspective:
An invitation arrives
You accept
You post to the group by writing an email to the group. Any email service, I used Outlook and my own email address - so people don't need to use gmail if they don't want.
When the group mail box receives it, the message is copied to everyone in the group - including the original sender (from what I've seen)
Everyone gets a message with a regular email subject, but it's from "the group"

Maybe try setting up a group with yourself and a couple of "test dummy" friends - just to get the hang of it. I doubt google will mind.

10/1/13 5:33 AM

...but WebEx is offering a free service for up to 3 people to do online sessions "for life". I just signed up for it this morning.