Is the end nigh for many neighborhood listservs with the “closing of the Yahoo Groups website”? MPD Listservs?

Photo by Jonathan Edelman

Ed. Note: Many neighborhood listervs, some that have been around for decades, have been powered by Yahoo. Additionally the various Metropolitan Police Department listservs are run by yahoo.

Update from MPD:

“We will create and maintain a total of nine new groups using Google Groups. These will replace the current seven police district community groups as well as the Special Liaison and Victim Services Branch community groups.

This format should provide better quality of service than Yahoo groups, which have been faltering for some time. Any visitor to the site will be able to view content on the MPD Google Groups. Individuals who wish to post or reply to an existing post will need to establish a Google account. Any email will work to create the Google account; a Gmail account is not necessary.

Once the Google Groups have been created, a separate, more detailed email will be sent out with instructions on how to register for the new MPD community discussion groups.

From Engadget:

“The internet pioneer is closing the Yahoo Groups website in a two-phase process that will effectively see it disappear. You’ll lose the ability to post new content on October 21st, and Yahoo will delete all “previously posted” material on December 14th. Users can still connect to their groups through email, but the site will effectively be vacant. All groups will be made private and require an administrator’s approval.”

From Yahoo:

“Yahoo has made the decision to no longer allow users to upload content to the Yahoo Groups site. Beginning October 21, you won’t be able to upload any more content to the site, and as of December 14 all previously posted content on the site will be permanently removed. You’ll have until that date to save anything you’ve uploaded.

What features will go away?

Files
Polls
Links
Photos
Folders
Calendar
Database
Attachments
Conversations
Email Updates
Message Digest
Message History

The Yahoo Groups site will continue to exist, however, all public groups will be made private or restricted. Any new group members will need to request an invite or be invited by an admin. Admins will still be able to manage various group settings, though some functionality will be limited.

On October 21st, you will no longer be able to upload any content to the site. To share info with members of your groups, you’ll continue to be able to do so via email.

You’ll still be able to communicate with your groups via email and search for private groups on the site. In addition, admins will continue to have limited access to group settings and administration tools.”