Just a head-up to those of you who think your private Yahoo group mail
is, well, private. Please take this seriously, and either don't keep
archives for your group, or delete them at least once a year. I've
seen old stored messages come back to bite someone more than once.....
even if they were in a private group. A group can be considered public
if anyone can join it without permission from the moderator. If the
group was ever set up that way, the messages sent out during that time
frame are usable by Yahoo for just about anything. Keeping your group
private offers a bit more security, but it's not fool-proof.

An alternative, if you have always-on internet connections like Road
Runner is to set up a list through Listserv.light-side, as that runs
on your computer and nothing is stored with a third party like Yahoo.

XXXXXXX


Yahoo TOS:

They can keep your private information for however long they want to,
for basically any reason, and if DSS wants to get information on you
about how your homeschool your children in order to help them with
their case against you, they can get a court order and get a copy of
every post you've made, twisting the words into another meaning in
order to use them against you:

You acknowledge, consent and agree that Yahoo! may access, preserve,
and disclose your account information and Content if required to do so
by law or in a good faith belief that such access preservation or
disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process;
(b) enforce the TOS; (c) respond to claims that any Content violates
the rights of third-parties; (d) respond to your requests for customer
service; or (e) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of
Yahoo!, its users and the public.


Your posts are not secure even on private groups:

You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the
Service, including your Content, may involve (a) transmissions over
various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical
requirements of connecting networks or devices.


Grants them the right to use your private posts in basically any way,
once they deem them "publicly accessible" which can happen after
messages have been deleted from your group due to lack of room, if the
moderator ever makes the group open to public membership, if someone
copies your message and sends it through a public group or posts it on
a message board, if the group is ever closed but archives not deleted,
etc:


* With respect to Content you submit or make available for
inclusion on publicly accessible areas of Yahoo! Groups, the license
to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publicly perform and
publicly display such Content on the Service solely for the purposes
of providing and promoting the specific Yahoo! Group to which such
Content was submitted or made available. This license exists only for
as long as you elect to continue to include such Content on the
Service and will terminate at the time you remove or Yahoo! removes
such Content from the Service.

* With respect to photos, graphics, audio or video you submit or
make available for inclusion on publicly accessible area of the
Service other than Yahoo! Groups, the license to use, distribute,
reproduce, modify, adapt, publicly perform and publicly display such
Content on the Service solely for the purpose for which such Content
was submitted or made available. This license exists only for as long
as you elect to continue to include such Content on the Service and
will terminate at the time you remove or Yahoo! removes such Content
from the Service.

* With respect to Content other than photos, graphics, audio or
video you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly
accessible areas of the Service other than Yahoo! Groups, the
perpetual, irrevocable and fully sublicensable license to use,
distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly
perform and publicly display such Content (in whole or in part) and to
incorporate such Content into other works in any format or medium now
known or later developed.

You can't do a thing about them using your posts in this way:

You agree to indemnify and hold Yahoo!, and its subsidiaries,
affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners, and
employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable
attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of
Content you submit, post, transmit or make available through the
Service, your use of the Service, your connection to the Service, your
violation of the TOS, or your violation of any rights of another.


And this lets them get out of the "public-only" posts that they say
they can use in any way and lets them get the private ones too, if
they want:

You further acknowledge that Yahoo! reserves the right to modify these
general practices and limits from time to time.