Google Groups - Mailing - Access

[Koldov]

Pretty new to Google Workspace, so not sure how to ask the right question to get the answers I need but...

 

Our 3rd-party consultant has decided to blow away the groups I had initially created (or the system had created - I can't remember), I didn't take much notice of the whole 'Groups' thing actually because I did everything based on OUs and we weren't actually using it for GMail or anything other than Classroom actually (and not really even that very much).

 

Anyway, they have created what looks like a few new groups, mainly I guess to be used for a mailing list, rather than to apply any settings.

 

There is a 'teachers' group which I tried to email but got a bounce back (not very specific - saying anything from the I don't have permission to 'post' to the group doesn't exist)...

 

I had a quick root around in 'Groups' and looked at the 'Access Settings' and I think this answered the question of why that happened. I am not a member of the group and the setting is as follows:

 

 

So, if understand it correctly that is why I can't email that group... however, I went to my BM and told them I thought there was a problem with the email list set-up and could they test it by sending this group an email. They are not a member of this group and yet the email got sent straight through....

 

So, now I'm confused...

 

According to the settings neither of us should be able to email/post to this group!

[HC_Netman]

Your understanding is definitely how it 'should' work.

 

Are you 100% sure they are not a member of the group?

[DGardiner]

Pretty new to Google Workspace, so not sure how to ask the right question to get the answers I need but...

 

Our 3rd-party consultant has decided to blow away the groups I had initially created (or the system had created - I can't remember), I didn't take much notice of the whole 'Groups' thing actually because I did everything based on OUs and we weren't actually using it for GMail or anything other than Classroom actually (and not really even that very much).

 

Anyway, they have created what looks like a few new groups, mainly I guess to be used for a mailing list, rather than to apply any settings.

 

There is a 'teachers' group which I tried to email but got a bounce back (not very specific - saying anything from the I don't have permission to 'post' to the group doesn't exist)...

 

I had a quick root around in 'Groups' and looked at the 'Access Settings' and I think this answered the question of why that happened. I am not a member of the group and the setting is as follows:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]70208[/ATTACH]

 

So, if understand it correctly that is why I can't email that group... however, I went to my BM and told them I thought there was a problem with the email list set-up and could they test it by sending this group an email. They are not a member of this group and yet the email got sent straight through....

 

So, now I'm confused...

 

According to the settings neither of us should be able to email/post to this group!

 

admins can always send to groups, has the user got an admin roles? not sure which does it

[Koldov]

admins can always send to groups, has the user got an admin roles? not sure which does it

 

Many thanks, yes this may be it as I do believe this user is an admin.

[jthompson]

Google Groups are a bit strange if what you're used to is Exchange-style distribution lists. By default they are web-based discussion boards, and so to use them like distribution lists instead, you have to turn off web posting and conversation history.

 

If you want org users who aren't necessarily a member of that group to be able to send mail to it, then you can use this workaround - https://www.edugeek.net/forums/cloud-services/224024-google-gmail-allowing-teachers-send-year-group-distribution-lists.html

[Koldov]

Thanks for that, but well... that's a bit weird and not very intuitive...

 

Is there no way to have a centralised GMail distribution list any other way than having to use a work around, or changing some behaviour in another part of Google Workspace?

 

Of course, I'm not used to the 'Google' way of doing things, but it seems a very convoluted way of doing something so basic.

[DGardiner]

Thanks for that, but well... that's a bit weird and not very intuitive...

 

Is there no way to have a centralised GMail distribution list any other way than having to use a work around, or changing some behaviour in another part of Google Workspace?

 

Of course, I'm not used to the 'Google' way of doing things, but it seems a very convoluted way of doing something so basic.

 

Theyre not complicated....

 

setup group, add members turn off conversation history unless required, configure options on google groups and never touch again...

[Koldov]

Well, I guess most things aren't that complicated once you know how to do them...

 

Just that I've never used groups for anything and coming from an exclusively Microsoft/O365/Outlook (and a little bit of Exchange) background and suddenly having Google Workspace to manage this is all new to me!

 

I guess I'm used to having distribution lists in a place for distribution lists (even though it's under 'Groups' in Exchange), not 'well this is actually part of something else that is actually used for another function but you can use it for a different thing it just needs x, y & z, settings changing'...

 

As I said, just a different way of doing things and doesn't seem very intuitive to me, but I suppose I'll get used to it.

 

Thanks for your help!

[jthompson]

Yeah, I get that. I'd have preferred Google groups to by more akin to vanilla distribution lists by default, but with the option to extend them to have web posting, digest options, membership requests, etc. rather than the other way around.

 

There's one option which you'll want to be aware of that still isn't available in the gui afaik. That is the option to prevent members from removing themselves from a group (quite important in a school). That's still only available to set via the API I think (i.e. using GAM).

 

As janky as it might at first seem, don't let that put you off Google Workspace too much. IMHO it's a noticeably more cohesive and better documented admin experience than Microsoft's, even if not quite as flexible at times, and Gmail's spam-filters are in a league of their own.

[Koldov]

Yeah, I mean it's definitely a 'different' experience, I'm not used to having the management/admin equivalent of AD, Exchange/Outlook/O365, Office, Teams, and all the other app settings, browser settings, in one web based platform console... and the settings for one part affecting the use of another!

 

Our 3rd-party consultant changed around our OUs and suddenly half the staff didn't have permission or access to most of the Workspace...

 

Ha ha! Well it has been remarked that we are getting noticeably less spam mail, but I reminded them that these are new email accounts and haven't had years of signing up to dodgy resource, 'educational' supplier/sales websites (let alone the amount of 'personal' things that I've seen signed up to with the school email accounts in the past), so we'll see....