Discussion List How-to

The Guild uses Google Groups to maintain an email discussion group for our members to connect, share information, and receive important news from the Guild administrator and board of directors.

How Do I Start?

All new members should receive an email invitation from the Google Group with a button at the bottom that reads "Accept this invitation." If you already have a Google or Gmail account, this will take you directly to the group page. If not, you will need to create a Google account in order to join. However, you do not need to use Gmail in order to use the discussion list. This is merely an account on their service. You can use any email address that you wish to receive the emails. If you think you will want to use the group page in order to view past messages, however, you will need to use either a Gmail address or create a Google account with the existing email address you want to use (see instructions here, under “Use an existing email address”).

If you are a member and have not received a Google Group invitation, please email Jen Grogan at info@edsguild.org.

How Does the Discussion List Work?

The group is invitation-only, and messages are visible only to members. When you want to email the list, simply send your email to edsguild@googlegroups.com with subject line and main text as you wish it to appear for readers. The email will automatically go out to all subscribed members. If you want to reply to an email on the list, simply click the reply button on your email list (or reply-all if you are replying to something others have already replied to) and reply just as you would to a normal email.

You will not receive a copy of your own email unless you intentionally include your email address in addition (whether as a normal recipient or a cc or bcc). However, if you wish to go back later and look at an email you sent in the group, you can log in to https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/edsguild, and view messages dating back to August, 2018. You must be logged in to Google under the exact same email address that you receive discussion group emails to in order for this link to work, though! If that email address is not a Gmail address, you will need to create a Google account with that address — you can do so by following the “Use an existing email address” instructions on this page.

How Often Will I Receive Messages?

You will have the options of receiving every individual message, daily summaries, what Google calls "combined updates" of 25 messages per email, or no email messages at all from the group.

Please be aware that the Guild's board and administrator use the discussion list as our primary way of notifying members of upcoming events, policy changes, and other important news, so if you select "no email messages," you may find yourself missing out on the full benefit of Guild membership. We do occasionally send direct email to members in ways other than the discussion list, but out of respect for our membership we limit those emails as much as possible.

How Do I Set Up My Google Groups Account?

To change your settings or set how often you receive emails from the group, go to https://groups.google.com/forum/#!myforums. There you will see all the groups you are a member of, with your name next to each, as shown below.

*Screenshot of Google Groups showing the Northwest Editors Guild’s group among others.*

Under the Subscription header will be a dropdown box that in the example above reads “Each email." If you wish to receive every individual email that comes out to the list, leave this option as it is. If you want to change this, click the dropdown on the same line as our group (the one titled Northwest Independent Editors Guild) and then select from the following options:

Don't send email updates
Send daily summaries
Combined updates (25 messages per email)
Every new message (the default)

The button to the far right (after this dropdown) is "Leave this group." Be aware that if you leave or select the option not to receive any email updates (or opt not to join the group at all), you may miss out on a lot of what the Guild offers to members, since the discussion list is our primary way of communicating with members.