Joining Yahoo! Groups
Is there a cost associated with joining Yahoo! Groups?
No. Yahoo! Groups is a free e-mail group service, and AAMVA has created a number of groups of interest to our membership. This is a free member benefit.
Are AAMVA Yahoo! Groups open to the public?
Each group has separate settings. While none of the AAMVA Yahoo! Groups are featured in the "catalog" of Yahoo! Groups, a group may allow public participation. Most of the AAMVA Yahoo! Groups require membership approval by a moderator. Some AAMVA Yahoo! Groups are restricted to certain members (such as jurisdictional vs. industry).
Is access to the Web required to participate in Yahoo! Groups?
No…you can participate entirely via e-mail. Web access does provide added functionality, but it is not a requirement of participation.
Can my jurisdiction/organization have a number of representatives on an Yahoo! Group?
Sure…we are looking for participation from as many members as possible. A word of caution: if there are multiple people from your organization participating in one group, establish a protocol within your office for responding to queries on jurisdictional information. This will save everyone time, and eliminate some potential for conflicting responses.
Can I participate in multiple Yahoo! Groups?
Absolutely. All members are invited to participate in all of the open Yahoo! Groups. Some AAMVA Yahoo! Groups are closed to jurisdictional members only, but most are available for all to participate in.
Can I have an assistant reply and post messages for me?
Sure, but there is a catch. Either your assistant will have to log onto the Yahoo! Groups Web site, using your e-mail address and password, to post messages, or your assistant will have to subscribe to your Yahoo! Group her/himself. Please remember that we don’t mind having multiple representatives from a jurisdiction or organization on any given Yahoo! Group.
Can I have members of my staff subscribe for information purposes only, and be restricted from posting/replying to messages?
Sure. Please make this request to the Yahoo! Group moderator when you ask to have them subscribed. The moderator can modify individual settings of the Yahoo! Group members.
What does AAMVA consider inappropriate use of the Yahoo! Groups?
Common courtesy and adherence to Yahoo! Groups Member Guidelines will help the Yahoo! Groups thrive. AAMVA will not tolerate profanity or obscenity. If industry representatives are participating in a group, they are not permitted to advertise or utilize members’ e-mail addresses for direct marketing or reprinting of e-mail messages or addresses and phone numbers. AAMVA Yahoo! Groups moderators do reserve the right to ban members from groups if they are not in compliance with appropriate usage guidelines.
What if I want to cancel my participation in Yahoo! Groups?
It’s easy…if you participate via e-mail, you may simply send a blank e-mail message to the e-mail address of your group with the "unsubscribe" command. For instance, if you are a member of the Driver License & Control group and no longer wish to receive the email, send an e-mail message to: AAMVA_DLC-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
If you are a Web-only participant, you may go to the site and choose "Unsubscribe" under Delivery Options. While you don’t have to take this step, since your participation is on your schedule, we do suggest it so that your name and e-mail address are removed from the list of Yahoo! Group participants.
Posting & Replying to Messages
How do I post a message to the group?
You can post messages to your group by e-mail or from the Yahoo! Groups Web site:
Via E-mail
To send a message to other group members, create an e-mail and address it to groupname@yahoogroups.com, substituting the actual name of your group for "groupname." For example, the address for the Driver License & Control Yahoo! Group is AAMVA_DLC@yahoogroups.com, and the address for the Financial Responsibility Yahoo! Group is AAMVA_Financial_Responsibility@yahoogroups.com
Via the Yahoo! Groups Web site
After you've signed in, go to the group you wish to post to, click Post, write your message, and then click Send Message.
Note: you can only post to groups you've joined, and only from e-mail addresses registered with Yahoo! Groups. If you misspell the name of a group, or attempt to send an e-mail from an account other than the one you joined under, your message will not be delivered. If you receive a failure notice, check your e-mail address and try again. Yahoo! Groups restricts messages to 1 megabyte in size to prevent abuse.
How do I respond to a message from a group member?
To respond to a message from someone else in the group, simply click "reply, compose your response, and send it—the process is the same for any e-mail message you would reply to ordinarily. All members of the group will automatically receive your message.
If you are participating via the Web, click "Reply" on the Web site link where messages are posted, compose your response, and click "Send Message."
Messages will pop into your e-mail box as members send and reply to messages.
Delivery Options
Can I receive a daily digest of e-mails from the group, instead of receiving them throughout the day?
Yes…Yahoo! Groups offers each member the option to choose to receive e-mail continuously, to receive a daily digest of the previous day’s messages, or not to receive any email, but participate only via the Yahoo! Groups Web site. The digest is delivered to you via e-mail with a "table of contents" feature listing the senders’ names and topics discussed. Scrolling down enables you to view the messages in their entirety. At the Yahoo! Groups Web site, you can change your settings under Delivery Options; choose "Daily Digest" to receive the digest.
What if I don’t want to receive e-mail from the group?
Fine…you can participate solely via the Yahoo! Groups Web site. At the Yahoo! Groups Web site, you can change your delivery options; choices are "Individual Messages," "Daily Digest," or "No Mail/Web Only." Choose "No Mail/Web Only," and you’re on your way.
How can I participate in Yahoo! Groups via the Web only, rather than email?
Once you are a member of an AAMVA Yahoo! Group, the YahooGroups.com site will "recognize" you, and a list of the groups in which you participate will be visible at the Yahoo! Groups Web site. Look for the "My Groups" heading, and select the group in which you want to participate.
Here, you can post and reply to messages, which will then be simultaneously sent to group members via e-mail, and posted to the site for anyone who is not participating via email. Messages from those participating via e-mail will be posted on the site as well. After you sign in, go the group you wish to post to, and click "Post", write your message, and then click "Send Message."
If you don’t wish to receive any emails and only view messages on the Yahoo! Groups site, modify your settings and choose "No Mail/Web Only."
Web Site Features
What are the Yahoo! Groups Web site features?
- Message Archive: The Message Archive stores all the messages your group has ever sent. It’s a great tool for browsing past information. Search by keyword! You also have the option to view messages by date or by thread at the Yahoo! Groups site. Group members can post messages on the Yahoo! Groups site or via email.
- Chat: You can schedule a group chat in your private chat room. Also, if you’re online, you can "enter" the chat room and check to see if anyone else is in the room. If so, you can chat live.
- Calendar: You can easily schedule meeting and even set up automatic e-mail reminders to keep your group informed.
- Files: Each group you belong to has 20 megabytes of private storage space for saving files, photos, MP3's, and any other group document. So…you can post files for sharing with your colleagues.
- Polls: AAMVA Yahoo! Groups moderators may occasionally open a poll for comment on a particular subject, and then let the group know the results after the polling period is closed.
- Links: AAMVA Yahoo! Groups moderators can add links to sites containing information relevant to the group's interests.
Can I schedule a chat session of my own to hold with neighboring jurisdictions or specific individuals?
Yes…one of the Yahoo! Groups features is the live chat option. Members of a group can use the chat room function at any time. The chat function and all other functions are only available to members of each specific group. Depending on the settings for the specific group, you may use the calendar feature to establish a date and time to "meet" online, and communicate that information to the entire group via a message to the group. If you wish to have a more private conversation with only a few members of the group, we suggest contacting them directly to arrange a time to meet in the chat area.
More questions?
Visit the Yahoo! Groups website.