Department CDA's have the ability to create new Connect Google Groups for their department.

Overview
The Connect Groups mailing list service is powered by Google Groups.  As a Group manager, you should take time to familiarize yourself with all of the configuration options available since there are many settings to meet your specific needs.  This guide is intended to provide you with the core configuration options to help get you started.  If you need additional help getting started, visit Google Groups Help.

The Basics
To manage your Group, you will always start by going to:

  • groups.google.com > select My Groups > select the gear icon next to the group you want to manage.  This option only exists for groups you are a manager of.

Note: Where a setting uses the term "UCSB" (e.g., "anyone in UCSB") or "the organization", it means the UCSB Connect service.

Add new Members
There are two ways for a Group manager to add members to a Google Group.  The recommended method is '"Direct add members" which adds members and sends them a "Welcome" message.  The "Invite members" method requires the invitee to take action to become a member, and the invitation expires within one week.  To use the '"Direct add members" method:

  • groups.google.com > select My Groups > select the gear icon to the right of the group
  • Expand Members > select Direct add members
  1. Enter members (up to 10 at one time)
  2. Write a Welcome message
  3. Choose Email subscription options
  4. Select Add

View Email Addresses
By default, only Owners can view email addresses.  This setting should be changed to allow Managers to view email addresses as well.

  • groups.google.com > select My Groups > select the gear icon to the right of the group
  • Expand Permissions > select Access Permissions
  • Change "View Email Addresses" by clicking the dropdown and checking "Managers of the group".
  • Select Save

Permissions
As a manager you can determine:  who can join the Group, who can send or post messages, and who can view messages.  By default, only managers can invite members, only Group members can send or post messages, and only Group members can view messages.  We encourage you to choose the settings that best meet your needs.

  • groups.google.com > select My Groups > select the gear icon to the right of the group
  • Expand Permissions > select Basic Permissions
  • Complete the desired settings and select Save

Moderate Messages
You can configure your Group to require a manager to approve messages before they are sent to the Group members.  We encourage you to choose the setting that best meets your needs.

  • groups.google.com > select My Groups > select the gear icon to the right of the group
  • Expand Settings > select Moderation
  • Complete the desired settings and select Save

Archive Options
Most commonly, mailing lists distribute messages to members and do not archive a copy of the message.  By default, messages are not archived.  We encourage you to choose the setting that best meets your needs.

  • groups.google.com > select My Groups > select the gear icon to the right of the group
  • Expand Information > select Content control
  • Complete the desired settings and select Save

Display Group in UCSB Directory
As a manager, you will want to determine if your Group is displayed in Google’s UCSB directory.  When listed in the directory your Group’s name, email address and description will be visible and searchable.  Most commonly, managers do not want their group displayed.  By default, Groups are not displayed in the Google directory.  We encourage you to choose the setting that best meets your needs.

  • groups.google.com > Select My Groups > Select the gear icon to the right of the group
  • Expand Information > Select Directory
  • Complete the desired settings and select Save

Sending Messages
There are multiple ways to communicate with Group members depending on your specific Group configurations.  Here is the most commonly used method to distribute a message to all Group members.

  • Simply compose a new mail message from your UCSB Connect email account
  • In the “To” field, type the Group’s email address (see below if you do not know your group’s email address)
  • Compose the message as desired and send!  This will distribute a single message to all members of the Group. As the sender, you will have a copy in your Sent Mail folder, but not in your Inbox, because Google de-duplicates messages sent to a mailing list.

How to find the email address of your Group
groups.google.com > Select My Groups > Select the gear icon to the right of the group
Expand Information > Select General Information (Shown below)

Posting to a "Public" Group
Make sure the Posting settings are configured for Public:

  • groups.google.com > Select My Groups > Select the gear icon to the right of the group
  • Expand Permissions > Select Posting Permissions > under Post Select Public
  • Select Save

Since anyone may post to a Public group, spam is more likely to be a problem and Google strengthens its protection. It requires that messages that appear to be spam must by default be moderated. If they are not, the message will bounce. If you don't want moderators to have to accept or decline these messages, you can disable this moderation. To do this:

  • groups.google.com > Select My Groups > Select the gear icon to the right of the group
  • Expand Settings > Select Moderation > under Spam messages select Skip the moderation queue and post to the group
  • Select Save

Messages are still spam-filtered as usual before they arrive at the members' mailboxes.

Conclusion
Google Groups have many configuration settings available to you.  The items above are the most commonly modified settings.  We encourage you to go through each of the configuration items and make choices that best fits your needs.