Sandra Dodd

The post with the new links on my site showed as “this might be junk” in my e-mail. :-)
It was from me, from a group I own.

Perhaps yahoogroups are really not going to survive.

Any feedback or ideas?

I think people need a yahoo ID to read the group online (which isn’t a hard thing to obtain, but lots of people have moved to google and gmail, in general).

I was told the site isn’t easy to navigate with a phone, either.

Share your frustrations about the group if you want to, so I’ll know more.

I used to live on e-mail, and now I forget to check it some days.

Sandra

nacho katy

I do think yahoo groups are dying, and I’m sad because I only just discovered them last year. 



I’ve never sent a post before because I’m in the “watch a little” phase still, but definitely enjoy and learn from the discussions here. 



I still don’t use Facebook which is probably limiting in some ways, but still feels right and very liberating to me in most ways. Perhaps if those feelings swap or grow too much one way, I’ll change. 



Maybe too many words to say the same thing which is I enjoy the group even though I’m primarily a voyeur. I wish there was more activity here, but even in the limited activity since I’ve joined (about a year or so), there has been meaningful information. 



Also, apologies if too many returns or not enough as sometimes returns are added and sometimes deleted and I’m never sure which one I’ll get....


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

On Monday, August 13, 2018, 8:48 AM, Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:

 

The post with the new links on my site showed as “this might be junk” in my e-mail. :-)
It was from me, from a group I own.

Perhaps yahoogroups are really not going to survive.

Any feedback or ideas?

I think people need a yahoo ID to read the group online (which isn’t a hard thing to obtain, but lots of people have moved to google and gmail, in general).

I was told the site isn’t easy to navigate with a phone, either.

Share your frustrations about the group if you want to, so I’ll know more.

I used to live on e-mail, and now I forget to check it some days.

Sandra

Sandra Dodd

-=-Maybe too many words to say the same thing which is I enjoy the group even though I’m primarily a voyeur. I wish there was more activity here, but even in the limited activity since I’ve joined (about a year or so), there has been meaningful information. -=-

It can stay here. I’m willing to bring links to new things elsewhere, if nothing else. But questions are welcome! New discussions are welcome.

-=-Also, apologies if too many returns or not enough as sometimes returns are added and sometimes deleted and I’m never sure which one I’ll get….-=-

When the moderators see a post, to approve, depending where it came from , sometimes it looks like one big block of words, but posts up as individual paparagraphs. Sometimes we see junky symbols, but it posts fine.

Then sometimes it doesn’t post fine.

It’s all mysterious, from the secret world of different sites’ compilers and what programs’ codes are outdated.
The internet will probably never be perfect.

If you do go to facebook, Radical Unschooling Info is the closest to this group.

What other facebook unschooling discussions are a match for here? There are a few. People are welcome to name and link them.

We (older unschoolers whose kids are grown now) have enjoyed half a dozen great platforms and places to share info. Right not, the only busy site is Facebook. There’s no reason to think it will last forever, just as yahoogroups, the .ning sites, Home Education Magazine’s unschooling forum, AOL…. they all came, flourished, and withered. Bummer.

When I die, maybe occasionally send a donation to keep my site going. PayPal, my e-mail address, until someone catches on that I’m gone. :-) Then, ask my husband or daughter. It’s a few hundred dollars a year to keep it up, photos and all. I have automatic payments from paypal.

If my site does disappear, lots of it will be at the Internetarchive.com, the wayback machine. But even that might not last forever. :-)


Sandra

Erin Waterbury

Personally, I prefer forums but they're harder to get people to than Facebook so I can see why Facebook has become the default discussion space even though it's not particularly graceful to use.

I do like getting every message delivered to my email.  I don't ever log into yahoo and only even have an account for this list.  I don't use Facebook often anymore and when I do I find the threading and notification system less helpful than simple email.

This list has helped me through a really tough time and helped me make many moments in our lives far better than I think I could have without it.



On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 9:57 AM, nacho katy nachokaty@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:
 

I do think yahoo groups are dying, and I’m sad because I only just discovered them last year. 




I’ve never sent a post before because I’m in the “watch a little” phase still, but definitely enjoy and learn from the discussions here. 



I still don’t use Facebook which is probably limiting in some ways, but still feels right and very liberating to me in most ways. Perhaps if those feelings swap or grow too much one way, I’ll change. 



Maybe too many words to say the same thing which is I enjoy the group even though I’m primarily a voyeur. I wish there was more activity here, but even in the limited activity since I’ve joined (about a year or so), there has been meaningful information. 



Also, apologies if too many returns or not enough as sometimes returns are added and sometimes deleted and I’m never sure which one I’ll get....


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

On Monday, August 13, 2018, 8:48 AM, Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <AlwaysLearning@yahoogroups. com> wrote:

 

The post with the new links on my site showed as “this might be junk” in my e-mail. :-)
It was from me, from a group I own.

Perhaps yahoogroups are really not going to survive.

Any feedback or ideas?

I think people need a yahoo ID to read the group online (which isn’t a hard thing to obtain, but lots of people have moved to google and gmail, in general).

I was told the site isn’t easy to navigate with a phone, either.

Share your frustrations about the group if you want to, so I’ll know more.

I used to live on e-mail, and now I forget to check it some days.

Sandra


Dana Hayden

This group was a cornerstone to our family's unschooling journey. I still browse it, but don't read as much as I once did. I do not belong to Facebook and have no local unschooling groups, so it is still my connection to the broader world of unschooling ideals.
Thanks for all of your time and commitment. My kids are 24, 22, and 14 now. The positive impact on my family is immeasurable.
Dana

On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 6:48 AM, Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:
 

The post with the new links on my site showed as “this might be junk” in my e-mail. :-)
It was from me, from a group I own.

Perhaps yahoogroups are really not going to survive.

Any feedback or ideas?

I think people need a yahoo ID to read the group online (which isn’t a hard thing to obtain, but lots of people have moved to google and gmail, in general).

I was told the site isn’t easy to navigate with a phone, either.

Share your frustrations about the group if you want to, so I’ll know more.

I used to live on e-mail, and now I forget to check it some days.

Sandra


chris ester

Hi Sandra, 
I own a couple of groups and moderate a few others. No yahoo group is easy to navigate with a device not a laptop. There is apparently a browser app that can be downloaded that helps. I think it is a firefox thing, but since I was born so very many years ago..... I generally do not use my phone for navigating groups. 

I personally shutter at the idea that facebook will be the only game in town for groups like this. Hang in there!
chris

On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 9:48 AM, Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:
 

The post with the new links on my site showed as “this might be junk” in my e-mail. :-)
It was from me, from a group I own.

Perhaps yahoogroups are really not going to survive.

Any feedback or ideas?

I think people need a yahoo ID to read the group online (which isn’t a hard thing to obtain, but lots of people have moved to google and gmail, in general).

I was told the site isn’t easy to navigate with a phone, either.

Share your frustrations about the group if you want to, so I’ll know more.

I used to live on e-mail, and now I forget to check it some days.

Sandra


belinda dutch

I am astonished how quickly its dropped away! It seems really recent that there was something to chew over most days. Now once a month?! 

It was definitely clunky to set up and use. Yahoo is a bit of a dinosaur in internet terms. 

I get that Facebook is more intuitive and familiar for most users. 
But FB is held at arms length by many still. I block almost everything but your group and a few other groups necessary for kids activities. I really dislike it.  Its not the group itself i don’t like, it’s the fb environment. I forget to check it a lot of the time by which time the discussion has moved on..

Its still good information as it’s still curated and kept on topic. But i think a lot of the answers are written on phones and are less carefully crafted ... like many I check fb on my phone in ‘empty moments’ in between stuff. When i am much less likely to write a considered contribution. 

I mourn the yahoo group. It shaped my parenting and my unschooling journey and am glad it was active when i was starting out. 

No idea how to breathe life back into it though... there are still lots of people writing... just not there. 

Is there a more modern alternative to yahoo? Does anyone have a lovely intuitive clear discussion platform to recommend?! Just wondering... 

Belinda


On 13 Aug 2018, at 19:29, Dana Hayden dana1095@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:

 

This group was a cornerstone to our family's unschooling journey. I still browse it, but don't read as much as I once did. I do not belong to Facebook and have no local unschooling groups, so it is still my connection to the broader world of unschooling ideals.
Thanks for all of your time and commitment. My kids are 24, 22, and 14 now. The positive impact on my family is immeasurable.
Dana

On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 6:48 AM, Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:
 

The post with the new links on my site showed as “this might be junk” in my e-mail. :-)
It was from me, from a group I own.

Perhaps yahoogroups are really not going to survive.

Any feedback or ideas?

I think people need a yahoo ID to read the group online (which isn’t a hard thing to obtain, but lots of people have moved to google and gmail, in general).

I was told the site isn’t easy to navigate with a phone, either.

Share your frustrations about the group if you want to, so I’ll know more.

I used to live on e-mail, and now I forget to check it some days.

Sandra


Keisha Igbazua

I’m still in the watching phase and love the information shared here. I have learned so much and am very grateful for your commitment over the years. 

If you are open to other platforms, I would suggest a move over to google groups. The interface is much more intuitive and you can join using email address. It’s also easier to view links and attachments. 

Keisha Igbazua


On Aug 13, 2018, at 4:01 PM, belinda dutch belinda.dutch@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:

 

I am astonished how quickly its dropped away! It seems really recent that there was something to chew over most days. Now once a month?! 

It was definitely clunky to set up and use. Yahoo is a bit of a dinosaur in internet terms. 

I get that Facebook is more intuitive and familiar for most users. 
But FB is held at arms length by many still. I block almost everything but your group and a few other groups necessary for kids activities. I really dislike it.  Its not the group itself i don’t like, it’s the fb environment. I forget to check it a lot of the time by which time the discussion has moved on..

Its still good information as it’s still curated and kept on topic. But i think a lot of the answers are written on phones and are less carefully crafted ... like many I check fb on my phone in ‘empty moments’ in between stuff. When i am much less likely to write a considered contribution. 

I mourn the yahoo group. It shaped my parenting and my unschooling journey and am glad it was active when i was starting out. 

No idea how to breathe life back into it though... there are still lots of people writing... just not there. 

Is there a more modern alternative to yahoo? Does anyone have a lovely intuitive clear discussion platform to recommend?! Just wondering... 

Belinda


On 13 Aug 2018, at 19:29, Dana Hayden dana1095@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:

 

This group was a cornerstone to our family's unschooling journey. I still browse it, but don't read as much as I once did. I do not belong to Facebook and have no local unschooling groups, so it is still my connection to the broader world of unschooling ideals.
Thanks for all of your time and commitment. My kids are 24, 22, and 14 now. The positive impact on my family is immeasurable.
Dana

On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 6:48 AM, Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:
 

The post with the new links on my site showed as “this might be junk” in my e-mail. :-)
It was from me, from a group I own.

Perhaps yahoogroups are really not going to survive.

Any feedback or ideas?

I think people need a yahoo ID to read the group online (which isn’t a hard thing to obtain, but lots of people have moved to google and gmail, in general).

I was told the site isn’t easy to navigate with a phone, either.

Share your frustrations about the group if you want to, so I’ll know more.

I used to live on e-mail, and now I forget to check it some days.

Sandra


sukaynalabboun@...

I agree completely with Dana: I still read each email, but my kids are older and I often find I've gotten the hang of this (unschooling), so when I meditate on things I usually see where I've gotten muddled or am not being as mindful as I need to be. The tools were here, or on your website, and without them, I'm not sure I could reflect on myself or our family so clearly. I still appreciate the learning you facilitate, every day...and I find it sad to think of a world without you or your contributions (I often see your ideas repackaged or reworded on newer sites or blogs- I wish they'd just credit you, but that's another story!)
Sometimes Just Add Light goes to junk mail, but not AL. 
Thank you, Sandra, and wishing you and your growing family many blessed and peaceful years to come.

Treasaigh


On Aug 13, 2018, at 9:29 PM, Dana Hayden dana1095@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:

This group was a cornerstone to our family's unschooling journey. I still browse it, but don't read as much as I once did. I do not belong to Facebook and have no local unschooling groups, so it is still my connection to the broader world of unschooling ideals.
Thanks for all of your time and commitment. My kids are 24, 22, and 14 now. The positive impact on my family is immeasurable.
Dana

On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 6:48 AM, Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:
 

The post with the new links on my site showed as “this might be junk” in my e-mail. :-)
It was from me, from a group I own.

Perhaps yahoogroups are really not going to survive.

Any feedback or ideas?

I think people need a yahoo ID to read the group online (which isn’t a hard thing to obtain, but lots of people have moved to google and gmail, in general).

I was told the site isn’t easy to navigate with a phone, either.

Share your frustrations about the group if you want to, so I’ll know more.

I used to live on e-mail, and now I forget to check it some days.

Sandra


rainbow mountains

This group was my family’s fodder! It raised the ‘unschooling us’ and there’s no way I could have gotten through those early years without it! It was truly a lifeline. I love the privacy of it too.
But now it rarely pops up in my email, I thought perhaps it’s gone very quiet? It’s a shame. 
Has everyone moved over to Facebook now? I’m on there but don’t enjoy the communication as much as I did on here, or the fact it isn’t private! 

Thank you Sandra for all you do and have done, for this group, for the website, the books, just add light....

I remember those early intense days so clearly and how this group with all its wise voices and carefully worded emails, made sense of things; Brought clarity, wisdom, peace and a guiding light.💕

1000 Thank yous, from me and my children, thank you! 💜💜💜


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

On Monday, August 13, 2018, 21:48, sukaynalabboun@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:

 

I agree completely with Dana: I still read each email, but my kids are older and I often find I've gotten the hang of this (unschooling), so when I meditate on things I usually see where I've gotten muddled or am not being as mindful as I need to be. The tools were here, or on your website, and without them, I'm not sure I could reflect on myself or our family so clearly. I still appreciate the learning you facilitate, every day...and I find it sad to think of a world without you or your contributions (I often see your ideas repackaged or reworded on newer sites or blogs- I wish they'd just credit you, but that's another story!)
Sometimes Just Add Light goes to junk mail, but not AL. 
Thank you, Sandra, and wishing you and your growing family many blessed and peaceful years to come.

Treasaigh


On Aug 13, 2018, at 9:29 PM, Dana Hayden dana1095@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:

This group was a cornerstone to our family's unschooling journey. I still browse it, but don't read as much as I once did. I do not belong to Facebook and have no local unschooling groups, so it is still my connection to the broader world of unschooling ideals.
Thanks for all of your time and commitment. My kids are 24, 22, and 14 now. The positive impact on my family is immeasurable.
Dana

On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 6:48 AM, Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:
 

The post with the new links on my site showed as “this might be junk” in my e-mail. :-)
It was from me, from a group I own.

Perhaps yahoogroups are really not going to survive.

Any feedback or ideas?

I think people need a yahoo ID to read the group online (which isn’t a hard thing to obtain, but lots of people have moved to google and gmail, in general).

I was told the site isn’t easy to navigate with a phone, either.

Share your frustrations about the group if you want to, so I’ll know more.

I used to live on e-mail, and now I forget to check it some days.

Sandra


Sandra Dodd

-=-Personally, I prefer forums but they're harder to get people to than Facebook so I can see why Facebook has become the default discussion space even though it's not particularly graceful to use.-=-

-=-Does anyone have a lovely intuitive clear discussion platform to recommend?! -=-

Celeste Burke set up a forum for me. I looked at in in a stressed and busy month, and thought if I coudln’t figure out how it worked, others might not either, and at the time this group was still fairly busy, and the facebook group, too, so I didn’t want to commit to another place to check in and work at each day, and I thought it would be difficult to lure enough people there. So it was never “populated” with topics and invitations.

It would cost $130 a year to keep it there, plus whatever work Celeste would do to maintain it (though she said she would donate all that, but I felt bad about accepting that). Also, lamely, this:
It was called Radical Unschooling Info, which is another forum I forgot to name earlier that was lively and busy and appreciated and then died out. I “inherited” it—picked up the payments, but it was a constant stream of robo posts that needed to be deleted every single day, and very little actual traffic.

The reason my facebook group was named that is that I had hoped to keep the forum busy, and announce topics on facebook—to use facebook as a conduit to that forum.
It didn’t work. I let the forum go, instead of pay for a spam-infested ghost town. :-/ But I have fond memories, and lots of good quotes, saved from the days it was active.

I hope others will recommend good current resources.

An even bigger hope: Don’t let Just Add Light and Stir go to the junk folder !!
And don’t look at it only on a phone, where it’s not very pretty at all. I format it so carefully, seriously. :-)

http://justaddlightandstir.blogspot.com

Sandra

Michelle Adams

I love it "as is."  I avoid Facebook and like having good information arrive via email. I wish there was more activity. I have thought about asking questions but fear them getting rejected outright.

Sandra Dodd

-=-Thank you, Sandra, and wishing you and your growing family many blessed and peaceful years to come.-=-

Thank you.

For those who aren’t on facebook, :-)…

I’m a grandmother. Ivan is seven months old (Marty and Ashlee’s baby), and Kirby (the new one, a girl) is six weeks old. Her name is Kirby Athena Denise Dodd, and I’m having trouble with it because the other day when I took her and her mom on errands and to lunch, I told Holly I took Destiny to lunch, and Holly said “and Kirby?”

“No, he was at work.”

Baby Kirby.
Oh. Yes. She was there. :-)

Also, I have a nine-year-old granddaughter I met when she was four, named Devyn. Kirby is adopting her and that should be finalized fairly soon. As it involves lawyers…. who knows. I’ve already bought some things with her new name on for gifts when the change comes.

Something I do like about facebook—photos. Of babies, and all kinds of things.
Some of the photos I use on Just Add Light I pick up from people’s facebook pages, and ask if I can use them. :-)

Just Add Light is nearly ten years old, has 2832 published posts, and another in the queue for tomorrow already.

Maybe it will be some consolation for the possible demise of this group, and it has photos, for those who avoid facebook.

Here’s Devyn (a couple of years ago): https://justaddlightandstir.blogspot.com/2018/08/he-will-learn.html
These have two of Marty and Ivan: https://justaddlightandstir.blogspot.com/search?q=ashlee+dodd
I don’t have baby Kirby yet.

None of them might ever unschool. Interesting, huh?
Devyn loves school.
Marty was asked in a panel discussion of kids, at a conference eight or nine ago, whether he would unschool. He said “That would be up to my wife.” Ashlee was his new girlfriend at the time, and was sitting right there. :-)
Destiny wants to work. Her own history and self-esteem might be more helped by that. Things can change, and they do, but that’s what it looks like might happen. And so I might end up taking care of another baby Kirby. We’ll see. :-)

But there’s an update for this group of things I don’t think I had said here before.

Sandra

Sandra Dodd

Erin wrote:
-=-I do like getting every message delivered to my email. I don't ever log into yahoo and only even have an account for this list. I don't use Facebook often anymore and when I do I find the threading and notification system less helpful than simple email.-=-

My husband is on a couple of still-busy yahoogroups, and he doesn’t even get e-mail notifications—only reads at yahoo.
But he also does that with mail. He doesn’t have the mail program set up on his desktop iMac, nor on his phone or iPad. He goes to the yahoo website and reads and answers his mail there.


Keisha wrote:

-=-If you are open to other platforms, I would suggest a move over to google groups. The interface is much more intuitive and you can join using email address. It’s also easier to view links and attachments. -=-

This group had a sister, or a cousin group. UnschoolingDiscussion. it started on yahoogroups, and Joyce moved it to Google, but at the time Google groups was a new platform, and the change didn’t go as smoothly as we had hoped, and it quieted down. But it’s still there. I’ll link it and if some of you discover you’re still members, try to stir it up! :-)

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/UnschoolingDiscussion

It’s been quiet longer than I imagined. The page I have on my site about it is antique-y:

http://sandradodd.com/unschoolingdiscussion

If it were revived, it might, nowadays, be viable and lively. Trying wouldn’t hurt anything. And there might be fun things to find and read there.

Sandra

Megan Valnes

Thank you for sharing your news, Sandra! I have a special place in my heart for this group. It was going pretty strong when we started unschooling and it’s value was immeasurable. So many wonderful and helpful discussions. I quit Facebook quite some time ago and haven’t missed it...the unschooling discussion there felt less focused last time I was on. I listen to podcasts and use your website when I feel the need, but mostly our unschooling journey is unfolding beautifully using the guiding principles I learned from this group. Just add Light and Joyce’s unschooling cards are my daily resource treasures :). 

Ps. Interesting how many emails have come through on this “dead” forum ;-). 

On Tue, Aug 14, 2018 at 06:45 Sandra Dodd Sandra@... [AlwaysLearning] <[email protected]> wrote:
 

-=-Thank you, Sandra, and wishing you and your growing family many blessed and peaceful years to come.-=-

Thank you.

For those who aren’t on facebook, :-)…

I’m a grandmother. Ivan is seven months old (Marty and Ashlee’s baby), and Kirby (the new one, a girl) is six weeks old. Her name is Kirby Athena Denise Dodd, and I’m having trouble with it because the other day when I took her and her mom on errands and to lunch, I told Holly I took Destiny to lunch, and Holly said “and Kirby?”

“No, he was at work.”

Baby Kirby.
Oh. Yes. She was there. :-)

Also, I have a nine-year-old granddaughter I met when she was four, named Devyn. Kirby is adopting her and that should be finalized fairly soon. As it involves lawyers…. who knows. I’ve already bought some things with her new name on for gifts when the change comes.

Something I do like about facebook—photos. Of babies, and all kinds of things.
Some of the photos I use on Just Add Light I pick up from people’s facebook pages, and ask if I can use them. :-)

Just Add Light is nearly ten years old, has 2832 published posts, and another in the queue for tomorrow already.

Maybe it will be some consolation for the possible demise of this group, and it has photos, for those who avoid facebook.

Here’s Devyn (a couple of years ago): https://justaddlightandstir.blogspot.com/2018/08/he-will-learn.html
These have two of Marty and Ivan: https://justaddlightandstir.blogspot.com/search?q=ashlee+dodd
I don’t have baby Kirby yet.

None of them might ever unschool. Interesting, huh?
Devyn loves school.
Marty was asked in a panel discussion of kids, at a conference eight or nine ago, whether he would unschool. He said “That would be up to my wife.” Ashlee was his new girlfriend at the time, and was sitting right there. :-)
Destiny wants to work. Her own history and self-esteem might be more helped by that. Things can change, and they do, but that’s what it looks like might happen. And so I might end up taking care of another baby Kirby. We’ll see. :-)

But there’s an update for this group of things I don’t think I had said here before.

Sandra

--
With love,
Megan


P.s.🌟Life is supposed to be Fun🌟