Mail groups, apopular way to keep in touch with others<\/p>\n
Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta, zatni@cbn.net.id<\/p>\n
So you have already created a mail group in Yahoo! Groups. You
\nhave invited your family members and close relatives and added
\ntheir e-mail addresses to your group list. You have even started
\nsending e-mails to everybody on the list without having to type
\nin their individual addresses or check their accuracy.<\/p>\n
Mail groups have become increasingly popular, as more people
\nknow how to use them. In the past three months alone, I have
\nbecome a member of five different mail groups. Someone at IBM
\nIndonesia's Software Division even uses this free facility to
\ndistribute mailed news on the latest of Big Blue's software.<\/p>\n
Another mail group that I have been invited to is IDC
\nIndonesia, manned by my friend Junaidi Aris Lee. Junaidi uses the
\npush approach to keep me informed of his company's research
\nfindings.<\/p>\n
A fellow contributor in Solo, Central Java, also created a
\nmail group for all The JP's contributors, and this is one of my
\nfavorites. Not only does this particular one allow me to get to
\nknow other contributors and freelance reporters from everywhere
\nin the country, it also allows me to find people who are free to
\ntackle some jobs that have come my way when I already have too
\nmuch on my plate. For instance, when someone asked me to
\ntranslate some reading materials in the area of marketing
\nstrategies, which was not my forte, I just offered it to the
\ngroup and it immediately had a taker.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, I receive even more e-mail messages every day
\nbecause of my memberships in these groups, but I do not mind as
\nthey are all useful in their own way. I just have to make sure
\nthat my PC is always on and that it regularly downloads e-mail
\nmessages from CBN's mail server so there will be no congestion.<\/p>\n
What else can we do besides exchanging news among group
\nmembers? Well, as it is more than just a mailing list, showing
\neveryone the photos of your group's last reunion gathering is
\nalso easier with Yahoo! Groups. Keep in mind that members can
\naccess the group Web site and look around inside it. So, all we
\nneed to do is create a photo album for each event, and then
\nupload the scanned photos into it. Our job will be much easier if
\nwe are already using a digital camera, of course.<\/p>\n
How do we create a photo album? It is even easier than setting
\nup the group itself. All we need to do is sign in and then click
\non 'Photos' on the left side of the screen. Yahoo! Groups will
\nthen guide us step by step as we create a new album and fill it
\nwith photos.<\/p>\n
There are some paid services offered here, although we are not
\nobliged to use them. Should we want to have the photos printed,
\nthere is a button that we can click to order prints. The photos
\nwill be printed by Shutterfly. The good thing is that Yahoo!
\nGroups will tell you right away if the results are of poor
\nquality due to an incorrect file format or other reasons.<\/p>\n
The best way to store photos of course is to use the TIFF
\nformat. There is a problem with this unfortunately, as Yahoo!
\nGroups limits (understandably) the storage capacity for each
\nalbum to just 30 MB.<\/p>\n
I like the 'Upload Tools', too, as they enable us to do a
\ncouple of things such as viewing the thumbnail previews and
\nrotating the image left or right.<\/p>\n
Those who believe pounding on their keyboards is an exciting
\nway of communicating can also use the chat room facility that is
\navailable inside a group. If your computer has multimedia
\ncapability and is properly set up, Yahoo! Groups also allows you
\nto use your voice instead.<\/p>\n
Did you find some useful Web sites lately that you want to
\ntell other members about? You can create a list of bookmarks that
\nothers can click on from inside the group's site. Do you want to
\nshare your databases of CDs, phone numbers and addresses, tips in
\nthe form of a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and
\nrecipes? If so, you can use the group's 'Database' facility. Want
\nto share files to be collaborated on, create a joint calendar or
\neven conduct a poll? The facilities for this are available too.<\/p>\n
Now, what about virus and worm prevention? As most viruses and
\nworms are transmitted through attachments, it is perhaps a good
\nidea to set the group parameters so that they do not accept any
\ne-mail attachments. Go to 'Settings', and then edit the posting
\nsection. Choose the 'Discard attachment' option.<\/p>",
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