Google Groups
Google Groups let you create mailing lists. Each group has its own email address and when someone emails it, their email is forwarded to everyone in the group.
You can also restrict who can email the group and who can see a group's members, which makes groups useful for mailing lists as you can ensure people on the list can't see the details of others.
Remember that all the same rules around data protection still apply with groups. Make sure you only add people to a group with their consent or if you have another legal basis (for example, if they have purchased a membership), and make it clear how to opt out of receiving email from you.
Tip: you can also add a group to a shared drive and all members of the group will get access to the drive, even if the group's membership changes later.
Be careful! Group permissions are very powerful, but easy to get wrong, and Google's presets aren't always useful for our use cases. We have included examples below - if you're not sure you've got it right, email it@yusu.org and we can check.
Setting Up a Google Group
Head to https://groups.google.com and make sure you're signed in with your group's @yusu.org account
Click "Create Group"
Give the group a name, email, and description
Note that by default your group email will end with "-group@yusu.org". If this is undesirable, contact us on it@yusu.org and we may be able to change this.
On the next screen you'll be asked to set up permissions for your group. This varies based on what you want to use your group for. Refer to the examples below.
Finally, you'll be asked to add members to your group - skip this step for now and click "Create group".
On the group screen, go into Group settings as there's a few things you'll likely want to change:
Find "Allow external members" and enable it, otherwise you won't be able to add @york.ac.uk emails to your group.
Disable "Include the standard Groups footer" - though make sure you make it clear to members how to opt out of emails!
Group Privacy
Each member of a Google Group can have one of three roles: Owner, Manager, or Member. You can then use Google Groups' privacy settings to customise what access they have.
For example, you can only allow owners and managers to send emails to the group, or to view the full member list.
You don't have to use all three - for example, you can have a group with only one owner and everyone else as a regular member. Use whatever structure makes sense for you.
Note that permissions are additive - for example, giving members the ability to view conversations also implies that managers and owners can.
General Mailing List
This is likely what you want for a general society mailing list. Only the group managers/owners can send to it and see the other members.
Committee Group
You may want this if you're setting up a mailing list for your committee. Anyone can email it, and anyone in the group can see all emails to it. Only the group managers can add or remove people.
Adding Members
Go to the "Members" screen of your group, then click "Add Members" at the top.
Put the email addresses of the members-to-be in the "Group members" box (or "managers" or "owners", as appropriate). Ensure that "Each email" and "Directly add members" are selected, then click "Add members". You may be asked to tick a box to prove you are human.
Note: you can only add up to 100 people at a time. If you get an error about exceeding your daily limit, remove some emails and try again.
Sending Email
Once your group is set up, you're ready to send email to it!
The easiest way is to compose your email in Gmail as normal, then send the email to the group address. It doesn't matter if you BCC the group, as members will only be able to see that the email was sent to the group, not who's on it (assuming you set up your permissions correctly).
Tip: In many places in Google Workspace where you'd use a person's email address, you can use a group's address and it'll act like you referenced everyone in the group. For example, you can share a Google Drive file or Shared Drive with a group and everyone in the group will get access - even if you add people later! Anyone you remove from the group will instantly lose access as well.
Questions?
Contact our IT Team (it@yusu.org)