Yahoo! Groups: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|CollectionDefunct collection of online discussion boards (created 2001; closed 2020)}}

| type = [[electronicElectronic mailing lists]];<br/>(formerly) and [[Internet forum]]s

| launch_date = {{start date and age|2001|1|30}}<ref>{{cite webpress release|url=http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/timelineReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=173882 |title=Yahoo! Inc.Opens -A CompanyNew TimelinePlace For Communities With Yahoo! Groups |workauthor=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=[[Wayback MachineYahoo!]] |location=Santa Clara, California|date=JulyJanuary 1330, 20082001 |access-date=FebruaryApril 1317, 20172021 |url-status=bot: unknowndead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2008071321482620060502040904/http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/timelineReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=173882 |archive-date=JulyMay 132, 20082006 }}</ref>

Prior to February 2020, Yahoo! Groups was one of the world's largest collections of online [[discussion board]]s. It allowed members to subscribe to various groups, read subscribed discussions online, view and share photos, files and bookmarks within a group, access a group calendar, create polls for group members, and receive email notifications of new discussion topics. Some groups were simply announcement boards, to which only the group [[Internet forum#Moderators|moderators]] could post, while others were discussion forums. Depending on each group's settings, membership could be open to everyone or only to invited and/or approved people.

On February 1, 2020, Yahoo! removed online access to discussions and all other features except simple membership management, essentially turning all groups into mailing lists, and on October 13, 2020, it announced that Yahoo Groups would shut down completely on December 15, 2020.<ref name="shutdown">{{cite web | title=Yahoo Groups to shut down on December 15, 2020 | url=https://help.yahoo.com/kb/groups/SLN35505.html|date=October 13, 2020 | access-date=October 13, 2020 | publisher=[[Yahoo!]]}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Farewell Yahoo Groups! Shutting down on December 15, 2020|url=https://www.ghacks.net/2020/10/14/farewell-yahoo-groups-shutting-down-on-december-15-2020/|access-date=2020-10-26|website=[[Ghacks]]|first=Martin|last=Brinkmann|date=October 14, 2020}}</ref>

Yahoo! Groups was launched in early 2001 as an integration of technology from [[EGroups|eGroups.com]] and community groups from both eGroups.com and Yahoo! Clubs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yahoo! Groups Moderator News - January 2001|url=https://groups.io/g/ncns/message/68|publisher=[[Groups.io]]|date=February 1, 2001|first=Bob|last=Conder}}</ref>

Yahoo! Clubs was launched in 1998 as an extension of services developed by Yahoo! Message. In August 2000 Yahoo acquired [[eGroups|eGroups.com]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2000/06/28/technology/yahoo|title=Yahoo! to buy eGroups|date=June 28, 2000|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=April 4, 2021|first=David|last=Kleinbard}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/Yahoo-buys-email-list-service-eGroups-in-stock-deal/2100-1023_3-242517.html |title=Yahoo buys email list service eGroups in stock deal |publisher=[[CNET]] |date=January 2, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2010|first=Jim|last=Hu}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|url=http://docs.yahoo.com/docs/pr/release588.html |title=Yahoo! Completes eGroups Acquisition |date=August 31, 2000|publisher=[[Yahoo!]] |access-date=April 3, 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001017213955/http://docs.yahoo.com/docs/pr/release588.html |archive-date=October 17, 2000}}</ref> In 2001 Yahoo! deleted adult groups from its search directory, making it very difficult to locate Yahoo! groups with adult content. The Groups Updates Email feature was introduced in 2010. It summarized, in a single email, all the updates that occurred every twenty-four hours in all groups.

[[File:Yahoo! Groups (2013-2019).png|thumb|Former Yahoo! Groups logo, used from 2013 until 2019.]]

On October 13, 2020, Yahoo announced they would be shutting down Yahoo Groups on December 15, 2020.<ref name="shutdown"/><ref name=":0" /> The site was closed down a few days after the advertised date, displaying a message that the service was officially shut down.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://groups.yahoo.com/neo | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218004444/https://groups.yahoo.com/neo | title=Yahoo Groups Shutdown | publisher=[[Yahoo!]] | access-date=October 18, 2020 | archive-date=OctoberDecember 18, 2020}}</ref> This message stopped appearing at the end of January 2021 and the Yahoo Groups web address began redirecting to the main Yahoo page.

In July 2010, the [[web analytics]] website [[Quantcast]] reported around 915 thousand unique visitors daily to the Yahoo! Groups website (US). In January 2011, that number had increased to 933 thousand unique visitors daily. The number did not include Yahoo! Group members who accessed the Groups site via email.<ref>{{cite web|date=August 31, 2013|title=Quantcast profile for Yahoo! Groups|url=http://www.quantcast.com/groups.yahoo.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616124409/http://www.quantcast.com/groups.yahoo.com|archive-date=June 16, 2012|access-date=September 6, 2013|publisher=Quantcast.com}}</ref>

In September 2010, at its "Product Runway" event, Yahoo! told reporters that Yahoo! Groups had 115 million group members and that there were 10 million Yahoo! Groups.<ref>[http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Search-Engines/Yahoo-Refreshes-Upgrades-Some-Products-775120/ "Yahoo Refreshes, Upgrades Some Products"]{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, eWeek.com, September 17, 2010.</ref>

* [[GroupSpaces]] (closed)

[[Category:Discontinued Yahoo! services|Groups]]