Since many of us are new to Google Groups, here's a little background:  

Google Groups are very similar to standard Usenet Newsgroups, but can seem a little strange if you haven't used them before. A Google Group functions both as a distribution list and as an archive for messages previously sent (or posted) to the group.  This is helpful when you want to use a single email address for dialog between a bunch of people (like our class).  So, messages sent to  ShrewsburyHigh1986@googlegroups.com get distributed to all class members who've joined the group (according to their chosen distribution method).  In addition, these messages also get archived in the group for later reference.  This is useful if you want to look back at earlier messages (or postings) on certain topics, and also helpful if any additional members are added later, since they can review prior postings and come up to speed with the rest of the group.  The group archive (or home page) for our class Google Group is here:

A side effect of restricted Google Groups is that members need to create a free Google account in order to access the group's archive on-line, instead of just receiving new messages distributed to their email addresses.  Google accounts are free & easy enough to setup.  If you followed the standard Signing Up instructions below, you probably already created one prior to joining the group. If not, you'll see a Join link on the left hand side of the group's home page & all you need is a valid email address to create a Google account.

When you join the ShrewsburyHigh1986 Google Group, you'll be given a choice of how you'd like to read messages posted to the group. The default distribution method is "Email", which sends a copy of all messages to your email address as they arrive. Other options are "Digest Email", "Abridged Email", and "No Email". "Digest Email" & "Abridged Email" will reduce or compress the volume of email you receive from the group. "No Email" will eliminate any group messages from being sent to you, but you'll still be able to access the group through the web interface.

You can also change your membership settings at any time by clicking on the Unsubscribe or change membership link on the group's home page.

As mentioned above, as a member of a Google Group, messages you send to the group email address get distributed to all members of the group (according to their chosen distribution method) & posted in the group archive.  If you're logged into your Google account and accessing the group through it's web interface, you can also start new topics or reply to earlier messages directly through your browser.

Photos:
To include photos (or other files) in your posts to the group, you can't use the web interface. You have to post by sending email to the group (ShrewsburyHigh1986@googlegroups.com) and including the photos (or other files) as regular email attachments. There's a help notice about this here. Note also that the size limit for attachments is 1 MB. However, please try to reduce attachment sizes further to avoid email download problems for members using standard dial-up modems. Photos, in particular, can be reduced to a couple hundred KB & still display fine on most monitors.

HTML:
When posting messages to the group via email, messages get passed through pretty much unaltered (except for the subject line prefix) to members signed up to receive group postings via email. So messages formatted using HTML would likely retain their formatting in members' email clients. However, the HTML formatting gets stripped or converted when the messages are stored in the group archive (as viewed through the web interface). As such, it's best to avoid excessive HTML formatting since this will not be retained in the archive for members reading the group on-line (or new members reviewing older messages).

Replying To Messages:
When you receive an email message sent through a Google Group, the From: field will contain the original sender's email address.  However, the Reply-To: field will contain the email address of the group (i.e. ShrewsburyHigh1986@googlegroups.com).  Because of the Reply-To: setting, a standard "Reply" using your local email program will target your response to the entire group.  This is great if you intend to include the whole group in your reply & works well for group discussions.  However, in some cases, you may only want to respond to the original sender of the message, rather than the whole group.  In that case, you just need to replace the group email with the sender's email on the To: line of your reply. The group's web interface offers similar options using the "show options" link next to each message posted in the group.

Content Guidelines:
When posting messages to the ShrewsburyHigh1986 Google Group, please be sensitive to the following. Note that these aren't hard & fast rules, just some general guidelines to be aware of.

• Please observe good "Netiquette". Here are a couple of links:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netiquette
  http://groups.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=12348&topic=250
• Please keep the basic theme of the group in mind. This group was created as a place for Shrewsbury High School 1986 Alumni to re-connect and stay up-to-date on reunion-related announcements. Members of the group would expect to see messages about things like SHS memories, what other class members have been up to over the years, class reunion information, and related topics. While an occasional off-theme message may be of interest to some, a lot of these can make the group less interesting for other class members.
• Please keep it clean. This is just a common sense thing, but please avoid the use of profane language and such in messages. While we're all adults here, such language can be offensive to other members.
• Please watch the volume. A group like ours will have high and low traffic periods as new members join, new topics are posted, etc.. However, a lot of messages from one or a few members over a short period of time can make the group seem rather "busy" and, thus, less appealing to other members. This is amplified if many of the messages are off-theme, as noted above. A simple playground analogy might be, "if you've been on the swing for a while, take a break & give someone else a turn." Also, if you're receiving more email from the group than you'd prefer, you might consider changing your distribution method, as noted above.

Again, these aren't meant to be strict rules, but just some basic guidelines to help make the ShrewsburyHigh1986 Google Group a fun experience for everyone.

For more details on Google Groups, visit the "About" page here:

and the "Help" page here: