Groups policy

By January 1 2018, all online discussion groups directly operated or sponsored by U.S. Grand Lodge offices and governing bodies must be hosted on Google Groups. We strongly encourage group managers to migrate other groups (e.g., local body groups or unofficial national groups) to Google Groups as well.

Existing groups should be left in place for historical reference, with new posts and memberships blocked. The group description should be changed to note that it is a static archive, with a pointer to the new group. All of this is easy to accomplish in Yahoo Groups, which hosts the vast majority of the groups requiring migration.

To reduce confusion (and misaddressed emails), it is suggested that the old and new group names be different from one another.

The technical process involved is relatively simple:

1. Create a new Google Group.

2. Invite all members of the old group to join the new group.

3. Lock down the old group.

However, if you have questions or run into problems, don't hesitate to contact the Internet Secretary (webmaster@oto-usa.org) for assistance..