Can Google Void Privacy of Group?

Question

Hello,

I run a private group where I individually allow folks to join. I was told by a group member that his friend, not a group member, was able to access member messages from Googling the group name. Is this possible? If so, what is the point of yahoo having PRIVATE categories? Can this be stopped by owner/moderators?

Answer 1

that can happen if the archives are open to the public. there's no such thing as a private group, it's either open, restricted or closed membership groups. this only pertains to memberships. only a closed membership group does not have the options for open archives.

membership and archives are two different settings

to close your archives

mangement- under group settings click messages- postings and archives (edit) <-- click the edit- scroll to archives options and click members- click save changes.

it'll take a day or so for caches to refresh and not list the once open archives.

Answer 2

Controlling who can join a Yahoo Group is a different setting than who can see the old messages of such a Group.  And yes, what you're asking about can be changed by the owner(s) of the Group, as well as any moderators who have sufficient privileges.

To make sure non-members can't access old messages, sign in to your Group.  Then click on Management on the left-hand side of the page.  Then click on Messages in the Group Settings section (towards the upper-right-hand corner).  Then click the Edit link next to Posting And Archives.  Then, in the Archive Options section towards the bottom of the page, change the setting from Anyone to Members.  Don't forget to click the Save Changes button when you're done.