How to Join a Yahoo! Group Without Using the Web Interface

I find the Yahoo! Groups web interface to be totally visually horrendous and difficult to use. I forget my password every single time. I can't stand the advertising. After I try to recover my password, I forget the answer to the "secret question" that I need to answer in order to get my password back. I have also become convinced that I am an android, robot or other artificial life form because I can never read a CAPTCHA -- it takes an average of three tries for me to get it right.

These and many other reasons are why I won't use the Yahoo! Groups web interface. That being said, there is a lot of good stuff in Yahoo! Groups that I need access to. So, I have devised this tutorial for other people who are in a similar situation; wanting to use Yahoo! Groups, but not wanting to use the web interface. I was surprised to find that this is not covered in other places very clearly (like the Yahoo! help pages).

What it basically comes down to is using this text: -subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Lets say you want to join the Oakland Greens Yahoo! Group. In a new window or tab, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oaklandgreens

• Copy the text after /group/. In this case it will be http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oaklandgreens
• Send an email to whatever-that-text-is plus "-subscribe@yahoogroups.com" ( example: oaklandgreens-subscribe@yahoogroups.com )

You will receive a confirmation email that says, "Please confirm your request to join oaklandgreens". Ignore the directions in the email! They tell you to go back to the web interface, then you are back at square one with the Yahoo! Groups UI. Click "reply" from your email and (without changing the subject or body) click send. If you want to immediately send a greetings or first post to the group, send an email to the group name plus "@yahoogroups.com" (example: oaklandgreens@yahoogroups.com)

Thats it!

Also, there is a nice feature once you have joined a group. Click the link at the footer of each Yahoo! Group email that reads, "Switch format to Traditional" and it will allow you to read the group messages without any advertising. You can switch delivery to daily digest via email as well.