Here is some information on Grouply:

 

A few months ago I wrote the following in response to another question about Grouply.  Feel free to forward it.

W.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NorthCarolinaDiscussion/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MidAtlanticForSale/
~~~

There's been a lot of discussion on Moderator Groups and everywhere else lately about Grouply, so no doubt you've heard of it. 

Grouply wants your personal information so it can congeal your Group posts into one glob, analyze it for you (because it's too hard for YOU to do, it says), and then regurgitate it.  This is supposedly desirable for you.  And oh, by the way, in the process, they get to form a monster database of previously private information.

If you sign up they get humongous amounts of information about you (and everyone else in the Groups you're subbed to) and all your Groups' posts, because when you turn over your Yahoo or Google IDs and passwords to them, they not only grab your incoming group emails, they get the entire archives.  That's a bunch of extremely valuable hijacked data in the form of your personal info and millions of live email addresses and, BTW, a violation of every Group's TOS.

First we began seeing blatant and pushy promotional posts in some Groups, then the angry member posts accusing them of data gathering, identity theft, spamming and more, and now we see Grouply's rebuttal posts and protestations of total, angelic innocence.  This war of words became so fierce so quick Grouply has already had to put a banner on their opening page to try to defend themselves.  As you read posts in Groups and forums in various places on the 'net, be aware that many (if not all) pro-Grouply posts are put there by Grouply shills.

I'm assuming that at best, they'll eventually sell that vast database of personal information.  Others are assuming personally identifying information is already being used for identity theft, and that spam is being sent out using email addresses found in Groups.  There's also already a glut of reports about people receiving spam from @grouply.com addresses.

Grouply has designed a sneaky system whereby someone can join a Group, get approved under a real email address, then switch their membership to their Grouply address without permission from the Listowner.  This forces every Group owner to go into their logs frequently to check for Grouply users.  Grouply could have given Group owners the right to make their Groups opt-IN only ensuring the safety and privacy of their members, but instead they made it opt-out -- turning all Moderators into cops who have to invest a lot of time in checking for Grouply users.
        Also, "...if a group is set so that only members can access archives, if a group member makes it available on Grouply, it's available to anyone and everyone through that website."

Grouply wants to archive all Yahoo and Google Groups.  They say it's completely, totally secure and, of course, completely, totally free.
        Imagine the programming hours, hardware, hosting and other resources required to create something like Grouply and then ask yourself if you would pay $1.3 million in startup costs to design and engineer Grouply and then buy the hosting and bandwidth required to offer Grouply free to millions of users... just for the fun of it.  Or, would you provide venture capital for Grouply without a reasonable expectation of a good ROI?  Of course not.  So I don't believe much of what Grouply says.  Grouply may be free to join, for now, but your name, email address, passwords, IP address, cookies, etc., are worth bundles and they want you to give all that to them, along with millions of other posters' email addresses and their information. 

Grouply promises they'll play nice now, but we all know startups sell out, later, and with that sale goes your information and lots of people end up making lots of money with your personal, private information.  Here's Grouply's 'privacy' policy:
~~~
         "Grouply will not rent, sell, or share personal information about you with other people or nonaffiliated companies except (a) to provide Grouply products or services that you have requested, (b) when we otherwise have your permission, or (c) under the following circumstances:
<snip>
"We transfer information about you if Grouply is acquired by, reorganized or merged with another company. In such an event, you will have the opportunity to ask not to receive promotional information following any such change of control."
<snip>
~~~
"... the opportunity to ask" usually consists of a notice in fine print buried on a back page of a website which no one ever sees, and reorganization, transfer or merging can consist of management renaming and rebranding itself, rendering your 'rights' moot.  IOW, you have no reasonable expectation of privacy with Grouply and when you sign up you put your Groups and all the other members in jeopardy too.

Yahoo Groups' opinion:
http://www.ygroupsblog.com/blog/2008/02/15/member-account-passwordsecurity-and-groups-3rd-party-websites-usage/
Further info:
http://groups.google.com/group/el-m-yg-remote/browse_thread/thread/c6cbc39c31904e51/b4fab0bc5ec9bdbc?lnk=st&q=#b4fab0bc5ec9bdbc
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080209214049AAtha6M
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/answers2/frontend.php/question?qid=20080208152833AA9F660
http://spiderfarmer.livejournal.com/361997.html
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977252502
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message503664/pg1
http://tanyaross.wordpress.com/2008/02/16/grouply-opt-out/
http://www.grouply.com/

 

 

 

Hi,

You can see a list of my groups on Grouply at the link below. Maybe you'll find some you want to join.

Sue

Here's the link:
http://www.grouply.com/register.php?tmg=1949237&vt=29641343





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This message was posted by a fellow group member who uses Grouply instead of email to access this group. Grouply blocks additional invitations from being sent to this group by anyone for 30 days. Group owners can permanently block future invitations. For more on how Grouply maintains privacy and protects you, see http://blog.grouply.com/protect/ .