If you want to understand the past, then archives are critical to that. Our current lives are lived partially online, so not preserving that will mean future historians won’t be able to properly do their jobs. Maybe you don’t care about whether or not we have a proper record to pull from in the future, especially with regards to the social live of literally millions of actual living breathing human beings, but I and other historians actually do. We want to be able to tell the kind of meaningful stories that connect us to our past and help us to make better choices about the future.
But then again, it seems like most people don’t give a shit about history and the people who write it, and think it’s inconvenient…
Especially when it comes to multilevel analysis for history. I can’t remember the book I was reading but the historian was looking at even small parts of common folk’s lives (material and social) to make sense of the larger picture of capitalism’s rise. I think he was a french historian. I need to find the book title some time but the point is that obviously it may seem unimportant to know what someone shared on a mailing list about RF electronics, cooking, or fan fiction but such trifles might have some insight that future generations can’t understand since the context would be gone.
It strikes me that groups like this can help us to understand the history of marginalized communities, especially, from their own words.
Right? We’re going to have to wrestle with the role new kinds of communicative technologies had in our lives, and how they transformed them or didn’t. These sources seem similar to me as wide-spread literacy in allowing us to really write the kind of fine grained histories you’re talking about… especially with regards to marginalized communities…
Unfortunately, lately that seems like an uphill battle, largely because there are still people who really believe that the only history worth studying is the wars and the politics, and the great men who make them happen. But since the 60s or so, people have been producing much more interesting, thoughtful scholarship that I think most people would connect with, but it rarely makes it out into the public sphere. Of course, historians ourselves play some role in perpetuating that, such as writing in a more obscure manner (I mean, we can use postmodern methodologies and still write clearly in a narrative manner) or having books published at such ridiculously expensive prices (who wants to be $90 to $150 bucks for a hardback book, or even $40-50 for a paper back, academic publishers!).
(FWIW, GTE was a good place to work, as corporations go, and at the time I voted against the merger that created Verizon. Also, I learned there’s really no such thing as a merger.)
Apparently I still have an email address linked to Yahoo.
Dear Group Moderators and Members,
Last month we notified you of the changes coming to Yahoo Groups that better align with user habits, and today we are providing an update to guide you through the next steps of the transition. Yahoo Groups is not going away - but we are making adjustments to ultimately serve you better. We are amazed at the vibrant community you’ve created through Yahoo Groups and we want to make sure you feel supported as we introduce these changes.
The following changes were made since our last communication:
Users can now only join a Yahoo Group through an invite or group request approval by the Group Moderator.
New Groups can’t be public. They can only be private (not listed in Groups directory, membership by invitation only) or restricted (listed in Groups directory, membership requests must be approved by a Group Moderator).
Members must share all content via email, and can no longer upload or host new content on the Yahoo Groups website itself.
The following changes will be made on December 14, 2019:
Public groups will no longer exist. All existing public Groups will become restricted Groups that require Group Moderator approval to join.
Any content that was previously uploaded via the website will be removed.
If you would like to keep any of the content you’ve posted or stored within your Yahoo Group, please download it by December 14 by accessing the Groups Download Manager at this link. Once you provide your preferred email address, we will send you a confirmation of your download request and notify you once the download is complete.
You will receive a link to a downloadable zip file via email for each of your Groups organized into a separate folder. Download time varies depending on the amount of information and file size.
If your download request is made by 11:59pm PST on Saturday, December 14, 2019, your content will not be deleted until your download is complete. We are unable to accommodate any download requests made after this deadline.
This is the final reminder to download your content. You can find additional information about the upcoming changes here.
We have worked extensively with our customer support team to develop recommendations for tools that can help you with any download issues. See help article here.
We have watched the evolution of Yahoo Groups with awe, as we grew to a community of millions with over 10 million Groups. Every day, we witness the power of community and shared passions, and our mission is to provide a platform for the strong connections people make with each other around their interests.
We thank you for being part of the Yahoo Groups community and look forward to continuing to provide ways for you to connect with one another about your shared interests and passions.
