Published using Google Docs
FAQ for groups.g.hmc.edu (Google Groups)
Updated automatically every 5 minutes

FAQ for groups.g.hmc.edu (Google Groups).

Introduction

What are the naming conventions for lists?

What groups are created automatically?

How often are automated groups updated?

What information is updated automatically?

What are the default settings for automatically created course groups?

How do I create my own Google Group?

Where can I manage my groups?

How do I add someone to a group if they are not part of the g.hmc.edu domain?

How can people easily remember the names of the new email lists? What's the new formula?

Can I have an automatically created group for all subject majors eg Math-all-majors?

Can I have a single list for my cross listed course?

Are there automatically created course lists for courses with multiple sections?

Introduction

CIS provides groups.g.hmc.edu (G suite for Education groups), a flexible tool that can be used  to create mailing lists, web forums, Q&A forums and collaborative inboxes.   Based on information in the Student Information System (SIS) some lists are created automatically.  Anyone that has a g.hmc.edu G Suite account can use groups.g.hmc.edu

  1. How do I create my own Google Group?

  1. Here’s a direct link to Google’s form for creating a Google Group: https://groups.google.com/a/g.hmc.edu/forum/#!creategroup
  2. Google also has documentation if you’re new to Google Groups at: https://support.google.com/groups/answer/46601?hl=en

  1. Where can I manage my groups?

  1. Go to https://groups.g.hmc.edu and click on the “My Groups” button.
  2. All of the groups of which you are a member will appear in this list, including lists that were created automatically.
  3. If you have permission to manage a list, a link labeled “Manage” will appear under the name of the list.

  1. What are the naming conventions for groups?

  1. To avoid namespace collisions between automatically created lists and manually created ones, we do not use the “-l” convention for automatically created groups on g.hmc.edu.  Automatically created list addresses have the format “groupname@g.hmc.edu”,
  2. Manually created lists will have “-l” at the end, as in “groupname-l@g.hmc.edu”.   The groups web interface automatically adds “-l” to a newly created list, and it cannot be removed except by the domain administrators.

  1. What groups are created automatically?

  1. Faculty, Staff, Student and some department lists are created automatically, based on information in the employee and student databases.  
  2. Lists are also created for students by class year, majors, and dorms.
  3. Course lists are created for every section of a course each semester.

  1. How often are automatically created groups updated?

  1. Google Groups are updated daily at around 6am.

  1. What information is updated automatically?

  1. Updates will include any new information from the Student Information System and employee databases.
  2. Updates do not overwrite membership additions or settings changes that the list owner has made manually.
  3. Updates do re-add any membership from the SIS that may have been deleted manually; that is, if a student is enrolled in the class, the scripts will ensure that they are members of the group.

  1. What are the default settings for automatically created course groups?

  1. Here are some of the important settings that are configured by our scripts

Setting

Default

Comment

Web Archive

Off (only emails, no web archive)

Pro: no record of posting other than in email (for example, quiz solutions)

Con: when new students join the group, they don’t see previous announcements

Who can email to the group

Public (anyone can send a message)

Sometimes people from other colleges or using addresses other than g.hmc.edu need to be able to email the group

Who can see membership

Members of the group only

FERPA compliance (course enrollment is not directory information)

Allow External Members

On

This allows people without g.hmc.edu addresses to be in course group lists

Show the group in the Directory

On

This allows autocomplete of email addresses and the group to be found in searches at groups.g.hmc.edu

Who can contact the owner

Anyone with a g.hmc.edu address

How is ownership of automated lists determined?

For course lists, instructors are the owner.  For other automated lists, such as majors, whenever a new list is created the script sets up ownership based on similar lists from a year before, typically the department head. When department leadership transitions, the old owners should add the new chair as owner.

Given the complexity of leadership changes, we are not in a position to further automate ownership of lists at the moment.

  1. You can change settings by going to the screen to manage the group (from groups.g.hmc.edu page, look in top right, click on manage).

  1. How do I add someone to a group if they are not part of the g.hmc.edu domain?

  1. When you are in the Manage pane for your group, use the “Direct Add Members” command instead of the “Invite Members” command.  Direct add has a limit of 100 submissions per day.

  1. How can people easily remember the names of the new email lists? What's the new formula?

  1. You should not need to memorize any of these names, as they will appear in both the G Suite Directory and your “My Groups” listing at https://groups.g.hmc.edu, as well as autocompleting when you compose a message in the gmail web client at  https://mail.g.hmc.edu 

  1. Can I have an automatically created group for all subject majors eg Math-all-majors?

  1. Yes!  We already automatically create major lists. Note that the major lists are by year eg. chemistry-majors-HMC-2017 and, as soon as someone declares a major, the appropriate list will be created if it doesn’t already exist.

  1. Can I have a single list for my cross listed course?

  1. Sakai and the portal have code that detects when courses are officially cross listed in the SIS.  Majordomo did not have this feature and we have not created it in G Suite, so in that respect the situation is no different from before.  For now, please create your own group of groups if you are teaching a cross listed class.

 

  1. Are there automatically created course lists for courses with multiple sections?

  1. No. While Majordomo used to include “uber lists” (lists of lists) that allowed one to mail all of the sections of the course, log analysis showed very little use of these lists, so we do not create them automatically.
  2. To add groups (“section list”)  to groups (“uber list”) see Google documentation on adding a group to another group at: https://support.google.com/a/answer/167100?hl=en