Why is Yahoo destroying the popular and workable Yahoo Groups by way of replacing with Facebook imitation ?

[bc]

[MissWong]

An excellent question! As a moderator of 4 Yahoo groups I'm stumped. 2 of my groups have been around since 2001 and have a combined membership of over 7000 members worldwide. I can't figure out what to do to save all our files and links as well as the members themselves. I cannot imagine what the hell Yahoo is thinking that copying a Facebook model will be any improvement. Facebook is an entirely different animal and they're in no way interchangeable. Whenever Yahoo has made "improvements" nothing has actually been improved. The search in my largest group hasn't worked in months and I've reported it numerous times. I'm left to think they have no plans to fix it because they're committed to putting all their energies on the new changes. It's a shame because once they destroy it I don't see it coming back and I haven't found another site that could adequately accommodate my groups. Millions of people will never trust Yahoo again once they've dismantled the groups.

[tuppenced]

I suspect the answer is that key new staff don't actually understand the ways in which Groups are different from Social Networking. So it's down to us to help them out - big time, and fast!

Taking Messages first, because the first thing you see when you go on a 'Newhoo' group is messages. One of the key differences is whether the message is purely for the moment, like a Facebook Wall, or whether it's information of lasting value, like symptoms of a disease. In the first case it doesn't matter if it rolls off the bottom of the screen as newer messages come in, and in the second there need to be tools to find it.

Now to be fair, Yahoo might say there are tools - Search for example. But on a genealogy group, a search for 'Smith' is going nowhere. The message Numbers have been concealed, and the thread lines (who replied to what) have gone. All I can say is that I, and other like me who have been users for years, found we couldn't find our own stuff let alone find our way though an unfamiliar new group (yes, we joined some just to see how it worked out). And I'm not talking about 'Way back' messages - on a busy group some get lost within the hour.

It seems to me that if you want general Social Networking, you won't want to join up for Groups, and if you are heading for a Group you don't want froth in the way. And if you are in a professional group as well as chatting with mates, you really don't want the same avatar for every aspect of your life!

So as things stand Yahoo face a massive lose-lose scenario. I'll be candid - I want Yahoo to win, yet I've spent my evening 'mirroring' my groups onto a less-professional groups provider so that we don't get wiped out if Yahoo don't listen.

Maybe Yahoo feel that the loss of millions or tens of millions of Yahoo users is a price worth paying to get tweens excited. But tell me, do chattering youngsters answer the ads?

So I'd like to see Yahoo develop these two utterly different products separately, rather than have groups not only disabled but dragging down what needs to be an ever-refreshing Social Network product. There'd be big technical benefits in keeping them separate, but most importantly it would enable much better reader differentiation for the advertisers.

David

[oth o]

I wish I knew.

You may consider asking Carol Bartz see:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/...ol-bartz/1

[fataftermath977]

This is why I'm a grey box on Y!A.

It should be my choice to keep my Y!A account and my groups separate. And I shouldn't have to bother with two Yahoo IDs to do so.

That's not even getting into the wrecked functionality of the new groups format. Yahoo isn't going to out-Facebook Facebook. They should be strengthening the aspects that make them different and look for better ways of filling those uses, rather than trying to copy something else. Especially when that something else is far inferior.

If I wanted to run a Facebook-style group, I would have started it on FB. I don't. So my question is where do I take my groups now?

[Mormon Ninja]

This is a matter where if it's not broke don't fix it. I happened one time to stop at one of my groups, and lets just say I got a brief preview of the way it is going to look. I absolutely hated it. I had a really hard time finding previously posted messages. It was clunky and very hard to utilize.

If Yahoo wants a similar format to a Facebook page, they should start something new and not destroy Group pages. There is a difference between a social board and a message board which is similar to a blog but more like a discussion page.

A social board generally has more of what I would term comment bites, or word bites, which can be found either on Twitter, or Facebook. It gives people a chance to share little tidbits of their lives with people. It just doesn't work for a message board. Even Facebook has discussion boards separated from the main comment wall, as at least Facebook understands that a comment wall doesn't do well for a discussion or message board. I just wish Yahoo would understand this before destroying what is a really good format.

I see you've been stared by Amanda who is part of the Yahoo staff, which is by the way how I found your question. I don't know if she'll take any of our comments to heart or not. But, it seems that Yahoo just doesn't understand the difference between comment walls and message boards.

[Richard B]

Hello bc,

I do not use Groups, but I can answer to Yahoo!'s service level in general.

This is all a matter of economics. The "Free Services" cost Yahoo! a bundle. They've been slowly decreasing the level of service across the board. I've been an Answers user for 4 years. It is a zoo now.

The Internet itself is undergoing many "adjustments." The questions of Intellectual Property and Copyrights are only now being fully addressed. All of the "Free" services will be long gone in 10 or 15 years. They must find a way to make their work pay off. Popup ads do not work.

RB