FAQ: Yahoo Changes, Our Groupsboxes and Other Questions

FAQ: Yahoo Changes Our Groupsboxes and Other Questions

Contents of this FAQ

A. Yahoo Groups Changes

A1. What are the changes made by Yahoo Groups?
Yahoo Groups has stopped archiving messages attachments and destroyed all the attachments in their archives on August 21. It will no longer be possible to see the attachment in your groups messages by web access (but you can still see embedded html links). Top

A2. How did PicsFetch! stay the best solution to access the messages in my groups?
Once again, PicsFetch! has reinvented itself to keep in sync with Yahoo. We've become the best alternative to massive e-mails hitting your mailboxes! Because the only way you will be able to see the attachment in your groups is to have a mailbox, PicsFetch! now offers groupsboxes with sizes from 1 GB to 20 GB to receive your groups e-mail, at extremely low prices (33% of Yahoo prices). See our new memberships page for details.

But PicsFetch! offers much more than what a generic e-mail service can! Depending on your membership options, in addition to the groupsbox you ALSO get:

Our quick and easy multi-messages, multi-attachments view. See the files (and links to files) from 5 to 80 messages all at once on one web page. No e-mail service offers you that!
Photos and Files Sections fetch with 5 to 80 items at a time on one page.
Quick Fetch, which allows you to gather indirect html links to files (those will still be archived on Yahoo, and may well be how people will send files in the future).
A 197,000+ group repertory with full information on the groups, including how active it is, how many members it has and a full description. You can search it by keywords.
Request zip files containing all the attachments/files from any of our fetch features (groupsbox, messages, photos, files).

We built PicsFetch! (in an earlier incarnation) two years ago to offer services that enhance the experience of those who use Yahoo Groups as a means to exchange files instead of text. It was our mission then, and continues to be our mission now, especially since the latest abrupt decision by Yahoo to specialize primarily in text-based community services.

We've become specialists at adapting to Yahoo changes, and have gradually built the best technology to complement their service for files exchange. This latest change is a major one, and inspired us to do a major one as well. Top

B. Groupsboxes

B1. What's a groupsbox?
It is a specialized mailbox to receive e-mail that typically has large attachments. It limits the possible senders (for now, only Yahoo Groups) so that you get no spam. Our groupsboxes post-process your e-mails to decode the attachments to binary files and classify them by group.

Because groupsboxes need to be very large (from 1 GB to 20 GB), the incoming and outgoing bandwidth (data transfer) becomes the crucial factor in estimating usage, not storage space as with smaller boxes (1 GB or less). For example, if you have a 2.5 GB generic mailbox and fill it up and empty it once a day, by the end of the month you will have consumed 150 GB of bandwidth (75 GB in and 75 GB out)! That costs way lot more than 2.5 GB of storage (more than $1500/month as opposed to about $125/month).

Our groupsboxes also automatically adjusts the volume of e-mail you receive based on groups priorities you set. With a generic mailbox, if you receive too much mail, it will bounce back to Yahoo, and set a bounce status in all your groups. You will have to manually remove the bounce status, then change the e-mail status to no e-mail for several of your groups to prevent getting too much mail. With our groupsbox, you never get bounce status on Yahoo because we do not bounce your mail (except in extraordinary circumstances). Our system automatically checks how much traffic you got each day, and changes the e-mail status for your groups to adjust the volume.

Also, you can set Watcher status for the groups to which you are joined, which basically allows you to see e-mails for those groups even if you do not directly receive e-mails from them. We can have all, some or none of the e-mails for that group, depending on how many members chose Receiver status for those groups. In a way, it acts like the Yahoo archive except it is by no means complete. But with a generic mailbox, all these e-mails would have been lost to you!

A groupsbox is the best kind of mailbox for receiving groups e-mails, especially considering the other features PicsFetch! offers. Top

B2. Can I use my picsmail.net address directly? Can I direct messages into my groupsbox by making the selection in Yahoo groups, for example?
You strictly CANNOT use your picsmail.net address directly. You CANNOT use that address by entering it yourself directly in your Yahoo groups. You MUST use the Groups Priorities button to decide which groups are important to you. We can detect if you used your picsmail.net address directly, and if you did so, we will suspend your account. You decide which of your groups are important, we take care of the details so you do not go over your bandwidth or get bounce status on Yahoo. Top

B3. How do I gain access to the mail in my picsmail.net groupsbox?
Once your account is set-up (after going through steps 1 to 4), you will see a selection box listing all the mail you received classified by groups. E-mails not coming from groups (sent by Yahoo directly) will appear in the NoGroup section. To see the e-mails for a group, you use an interface with which you are already familiar as a member of PicsFetch!. You can go forwards or backwards in your e-mails for a group, starting at any message number, and with a range between 5 and 40 e-mails (5 and 15 for Regular members). Top

B4. I am NOT interested in receiving email from the groups. Can I continue fetching files?
Yes. Our other features still work the same way. Although the messages archives have been deleted by Yahoo, the international groups still have their archive until mid-September, and many groups embed html links in their messages, which our system continues to decode. Also, the Photos and Files Fetch are available, and they do not count against your data transfer allowance since the files come directly from Yahoo. If you do not have any Receiver groups you are considered to have Watcher status in all your groups, which allows you to access some e-mails for those groups. You have a lot of toys to play with without needing to receive e-mails. Top

B5. I get lots of e-mail (without attachments) from many of my groups. Are you asking us to change the address to which yahoo sends *all* of our e-mail?
No. Only groups with Receiver status will have your picsmail.net e-mail address. Those you selected as Watcher will not be touched by our system, and can be set to any e-mail address you want. Top

B6. If I am not receiving e-mails from a group, how can I see the messages for that group?
The Watcher interface will be active soon, and it will allow you to see all, some or none of the e-mails for the groups which have Watcher status, depending on what we received. Top

B7. Can I use my groupsbox for regular mail?
No. Top

B8. Can I use my groupsbox to send mail?
No. Top

B9. Can I access my groupsbox with Pop3?
Not for now, but we will eventually have a way for you to receive a load of files by Pop3. Top

B10. Can I use my groupsbox to receive movies?
Yes, any type of file except viruses of course. Top

B11. Can I use my groupsbox with MSN Groups or with other Groups communities?
Very soon, but for now it will work only with Yahoo Groups. Top

B. Groupsbox Setup

C1. How simple is it to set-up my groupsbox?
As simple as we could make it under the tight deadline set by Yahoo. The registering of your address on Yahoo and its verification is a process imposed on Yahoo, not us. We always strive to make things as simple as possible, and we will find ways to optimize the process with time. Top

C2. What is a Receiver group?
A group for which you would like to receive e-mails. Note that depending on your priorities for that group and your data transfer allowance, you may not actually receive the e-mails for that group. The Receiver status indicates to us that you want to receive e-mail from a group if it is possible. Your group preferences for Receiver groups will be automatically set to your picsmail.net e-mail address (you are not allowed to set them yourself). Top

C3. What do you mean by Receiver groups priorities?
Your groupsbox acts like a thermostat to regulate the flow of e-mails to itself: if your groupsbox gets too much data transfer, it will turn off individual e-mail settings on Yahoo for a few groups; if your groupsbox has data transfer to spare, it will turn on the individual e-mails settings for more groups. It is vital for us to know which groups to turn off or on, i.e. which groups are more important to you. We do this by making you set five Priority 1 Receiver groups (the most crucial for you), five Priority 2 Receiver groups (the next most important), etc... until all your Receiver groups have a priority. Top

C4. What is a Watcher group?
A Watcher group is a group to which you are joined (you cannot have Watcher status for a group to which you are not joined) and for which you want to see the e-mails that we may have received, without receiving those e-mails directly. Your group preferences for Watcher groups will be untouched on Yahoo, and you may set them to whatever you like (if you want to receive e-mails to another e-mail address, for example). You are not allowed to set your preferences to your picsmail.net for your Watcher groups: if you do so, your account will be suspended. Top

C5. I don't understand Step 1, Set Groups Priorities.
Step 1 allows you to specify for which groups you want to receive e-mails, and in what order of priority. All groups for which you do not set a Priority will be Watcher groups. You first choose 5 of your groups to be Priority 1 Receiver, then 5 others to be Priority 2, etc... until the groups that are left are all to have Watcher status. You can start all over again if you made mistakes. Top

C6. I can't complete Step 2, Add E-Mail To Yahoo Profile.
You need to have your e-mail assigned first of all (see C7). Check also if you have made a mistake in entering the e-mail address on Yahoo (use copy-paste to make sure). Also, make sure you do all the extra steps Yahoo imposes after you write the e-mail address: you need to click Finished, then go back to your profile, then refresh the page, then click on the Not Verified link, then click on the Verify Your E-Mail Now button (very tedious). Finally, if Yahoo complains when you add the picsmail.net address, it is usually not because of that address in particular, but because some other address violates some new rule they imposed (like not having a yahoo.com address as an alternate, or having more than 5 alternates, etc...) Top

C7. Why do I get the message: 'Your e-mail box has not been assigned'?
Your grousbox is not created automatically when you join. We need to have your Yahoo information on file, and then do a few manual steps before it is created. If you want to speed things up, log on to our site, enter your Yahoo information when asked, and do a quick fetch for a group (even if it has no files in it). We try to assign e-mail addresses as quickly as we can. Top

C8. Where is the Yahoo verification code for my new email? Yahoo says they sent an email to that address that I need to reply to them for the address to be verified.
When we receive the e-mail that Yahoo sends for verification, the URL and code will appear next to Step 3. You need to refresh the page from time to time to see it, or wait a few minutes then log in again. Top

C9. I can't complete Step 3, Verify My E-Mail Address.
See C8 and C10 if the URL is not showing up. You will have to enter your password. If for some reason, you were logged in on Yahoo under another identity, you need to sign out first before doing this step. If Yahoo asks your verification code, it is the code right after the '?' in the URL. Top

C10. Problem with step 3, URL not showing up. Why?
You need to refresh the Main Menu page from time to time. If it does not appear after a good five minutes, try to send the code back again from Yahoo, and if all else fails, e-mail us. If you are an SBC user, your procedure is different, and you need to contact us by e-mail for us to intervene manually. Top

C11. I can't complete Step 4, Update Groups Status on Yahoo.
Check your Profile on Yahoo Groups to see if your picsmail.net address is verified. Step 4 cannot work if that address is not verified. If it doesn't work, wait for an hour and try it again (please do not press the button repeatedly). Also, make sure we have your correct Yahoo password on file, and if not, try to fetch a group with Quick Fetch to force it to ask your password again. Top

C12. I am an SBC user. Are there any special considerations for me?
If your Yahoo login is an SBC address, our system won't work with you. We'll try to address that in the future. If you have a regular Yahoo login, the verification process is different. E-mail us once you've entered your picsmail.net address in your Yahoo profile. Top

C13. Can I post attachments to groups for which I have a picsmail.net address?
Yes, but you need to send your post from your Yahoo e-mail account or one of your other verified alternate addresses for it to work, otherwise Yahoo will complain that you are not a member of that group. Top

D. Data Transfer (Bandwidth) and Storage Space

D1. How large is my groupsbox?
In designing our membership packages, we looked at our current members' use and needs. We wanted to give them enough room in their groupsbox so they would not have to hurry to empty it all the time in case it would start to bounce. Your groupsbox is designed to allow you to leave it unattended for a month and not go over your data transfer allowance to fill and empty it. Typical use would be to check it once or twice a week, go through some of the files then, but let the majority of the files linger for up to a month. Don't forget that we don't only offer a groupsbox, but a complete service: so in a typical session, you don't only look at your e-mails, but also use the Photos & Files Fetch, and go through the indirect e-mails you have access to with your Watcher groups.

So you get a huge groupsbox which can go unattended for weeks, is auto-managed for bouncing and data transfer, auto-classifies into groups, and allows a multi-message + multi attachments view, but that's only the start. In addition, if you are a Premium, Deluxe, Extreme or Supreme member, you will have access to e-mails which you did not receive directly but that belong to groups to which you are joined (Watcher status). For a limited time, we will also allow Regular members access to e-mails when they have Watcher status for that group.

That feature alone means your actual groupsbox is actually much bigger because it gives you access to e-mails you did not directly receive, and which do not count against your storage allowance (only your data transfer allowance). Top

D2. Why is data transfer limited?
Because groupsboxes need to be very large (from 1 GB to 20 GB), the incoming and outgoing bandwidth (data transfer) becomes the crucial factor in estimating usage, not storage space as with smaller boxes (1 GB or less). For example, if you have a 2.5 GB generic mailbox and fill it up and empty it once a day, by the end of the month you will have consumed 150 GB of data transfer (75 GB in and 75 GB out)! That costs way lot more than 2.5 GB of storage (around $1250/month as opposed to about $125/month). So that's what expensive when it comes to people downloading files instead of text. Storage space comes only second. That's primarily the reason why Yahoo is deleting their archives. The data transfer costs are too high to recuperate with publicity. Since we are not an ad-based service, that's the main factor in determining our prices. Top

D3. What are the exact storage and data transfer allowances for my membership?

Feature/Membership	Lite	Regular	Premium	Deluxe	Extreme	Supreme
Total Data Transfer (Bandwidth) Total Monthly	200 MB	500 MB	1 GB	1.5 GB	3 GB	5 GB
Groupsbox (Storage Space) Max Size	As large as necessary to keep all messages received at your allowed bandwidth for at least 6 weeks and avoid bouncing.

Top

D5. How is my data transfer allowance calculated?
It's the total amount of megabytes you either view or download from either your groupsbox. Messages, Photos and Files Fetch do not count, because these will come from Yahoo, and neither will thumbnails when these are available. The same amount applies also to the amount of megabytes you can receive in your groupsbox. If you have a 2 GB allowance, you can view/download 2 GB AND receive 2 GB during the month. Top

D6. How exactly do you control incoming (e-mail) data transfer according to my groups priorities?
Your groupsbox acts like a thermostat to regulate the flow of e-mails to itself: if your groupsbox receives too much data transfer, it will turn off individual e-mail settings on Yahoo for a few groups; if your groupsbox has data transfer to spare, it will turn on the individual e-mails settings for more groups. That's the reason why you are NOT allowed to use your address directly, because it would interfere with this process. Top

D7. How do I know how much data transfer I have used, or how much space my groupsbox takes?
The interface for that will be there soon. Until it is, we are a bit more lax on those, but when the tools to control them are activated, we will strictly enforce them. We will strive to be as informative as possible. Top

D8. I have thousands of groups. Do you limit the number of groups I can join?
No. What makes PicsFetch! different from a generic mailbox is that you will be able to keep a Watcher status in many groups, which will allow you to access the messages for that group without receiving that group's e-mail. With that status, although you will not have any control about how many and which files from that group will be available, you will get a lot of files you would otherwise have missed. If you decide to receive groups e-mails for a group, you will be guaranteed to get all the files that group sends, but only a small fraction of a typical member's group selection are so crucial. Top

D9. How do I determine what membership is better for my needs?
As you can see, data transfer (bandwidth) is the most important factor. Determine what is the total size in megabytes you view or download each month, and use that to see which membership level you need. If you choose too small a size, you can always upgrade later. We offer large enough groupsboxes that you can receive for up to a month's worth of e-mail at your data transfer level before it starts to bounce. Top

D11. But I dream of past days where I could get millions of files for free ...
Yahoo has spoiled you, but it is obvious that the free with ads business model was not enough to pay the bandwidth bills at the end of the day.

PicsFetch! provides the best solution by combining our previous services with a mailbox service that understands the needs of the file-centered, huge attachments crowd. Top

E. Groupsbox Interface

E1. What is the message 'E-Mails currently being decoded'?
We must decode the e-mails you receive before you can see them in the PicsFetch! interface. This is done periodically, so although we have your e-mails in their source form, we may not have decoded them yet. Top

E2. How do I see my e-mails?
Provided you did Steps 1 to 4 correctly, you will see the interface change to one very familiar to PicsFetch! users, where you can choose a group and get the e-mails you received from that group in our multi-message, multi-attachment view. The message numbers are the order in which you received the e-mails for that group: they have no relevance to the message numbers on Yahoo. Top

E3. Why is it that I have no new e-mail for a while, then suddenly I get a lot of new e-mails all at once?
We decode messages about two or three times a day, and we do those we received for that interval all at once. We will gradually increase the frequency of this decoding until you get access to your e-mails a few minutes after we receive them. Top

E4. How do I delete e-mails?
By using the button that is not there yet :) Seriously, you will be able to discard e-mails, but if you don't, we will discard the oldest ones first for you. Your e-mail will not bounce if your groupsbox is full: it can only bounce if you do not follow our instructions properly (and used your e-mail address directly for example, or your Yahoo login information is out of date and we cannot connect to your account). All groupsboxes have sizes that allow them to gather e-mail for a month at your allowed data transfer before they start discarding old e-mails. Top

E5. How do I know my groupsbox is full?
We will provide you with stats, but you do not need to worry about it as much as with generic mailboxes because we take appropriate steps when it becomes full to avoid bouncing. All our groupsboxes have sizes that allow them to gather e-mail for a month at your allowed data transfer before they start discarding old e-mails automatically. Top

E6. How do I know that my groupsbox is rejecting/bouncing?
Your groupsbox won't reject e-mails or bounce e-mails unless you used your picsmail.net address directly. Top

E7. How do I see the messages from my Watcher groups?
The interface for that will be ready sometimes before August 31st. The messages available will be those from August 20 and on. Top

E8. How do I change my groups priorities?
The button for that will be ready on Thursday night. But you shouldn't need to just yet, because you did set them right in Step 1, didn't you? Top

E9. Why don't you show message texts?
PicsFetch! is a file-centered service as opposed to a text-centered service like Yahoo Groups is. To be more precise, PicsFetch! transforms a text-centered universe into a file-centered one. Top

E10. Why don't you show .pif, .scr or .exe attachments?
As an over-defense against viruses, since most viruses and trojan horses live in files with those extensions. We decode files with these extensions, but we just don't allow access to them before we can make sure they do not contain viruses. Top

E11. What are the new features you'll be adding to the groupsbox interface?
Apart from those mentioned above, you will gradually see a merge of features between the old PicsFetch! and the new one, because right now it starts to be confusing. We will also concentrate on simplifying the interface wherever we can. We will also add more feedback and more information on what's going on. But dozens of little details to tweak here and there are on our list, like embedded html links, etc... You can e-mail us if there's a feature you absolutely want us to implement, we like suggestions. Top

F. Other Questions

F1. In what order will the changes occur?
Coming next is the Groups Priorities button to change the priorities you set in Step 1 (but you did set them correctly from the start, didn't you?). Then, data transfer information and control. Next will be the interface to access files from Watcher status groups. Next will be the Photos and Files Fetch restructure. After that, our list is full, but we'll at least breathe a little. Top

F2. How do I purchase the very tempting Extreme and Supreme memberships?
They will be available next week, with an upgrade path from Regular or Premium. Top

F3. How about AOL browsers compatibility?
AOL browsers sometimes have problems with PicsFetch! because of a bug that causes them to disconnect after a few seconds and show the message "Web Site Not Responding". PicsFetch! takes longer to answer a browser because of all the processing that needs to take place (contacting Yahoo, getting the links, putting them on the page and sending it) before the page is ready. For now, we advise you to use a better browser like Internet Explorer, which is free. Since the problem only occurs during fetching of Yahoo directly, the e-mail services won't be problematic for AOL. Top

F4. Why doesn't the Quick button work? Why is PicsFetch! not finding any attachment? Why is it that the groups we fetched, prior to the change, had thousands of files but we can no longer fetch those attachment that we had not viewed previously?
You are aware, we hope, that Yahoo decided to delete the attachments in their message archive. We continue to offer the same service as before, which is to give you a better, faster fetch to what you have fetch to on Yahoo, except that now you have much less to fetch on Yahoo. So we decided to add an e-mail service to your membership so you can receive e-mails from groups and access them with our simple interface. Top

F5. I have joined or renewed my account through PayPal but I am not able to access the site.
PayPal is not instant access. It requires manual intervention to set up your account when you use PayPal. You will receive your password within a few hours. Top

F6. How do I cancel my subscription?
If you chose a non-recurring (one-time) payment plan, you do not have to cancel your subscription. It will end on its own and you will have to manually rejoin at your leisure when it ends. If you chose a recurring payment plan, you can go to https://www.probilling.com/consumer/cancelStep1.cfm to avoid being billed again for another term. Top

F7. I renewed my account through PayPal, but I am not able to enter your site with my old password. What am I doing wrong?
See F5. You have to wait until we send you a new password, then use it to enter the site, then merge your new account with your old one. Top

F8. How do I save the files on my disk?
That is browser dependent, but typically members either drag and drop the files they want to their drive, or they right-click on the file (or the link below the red x if the file is not showing) and choose save to disk. This way you do not waste space on your disk for files you do not want. Some browsers may have tools that save you a few clicks, or plug-ins may be available also, but it is the basic operation. With our zip-file feature, you will be able to download a zip file of all files you checkmarked on a page. Top

F9. Contact Us
Any other questions regarding customer support must be sent by e-mail to our customer support department at support@picsfetch.com. We usually reply within 8 hours, but on rare occasions we can take up to 36 hours, and during this period of transition, do not be surprised if we take longer than that. Top

[PicsFetch! is a third-party service and is not affiliated with Yahoo Groups in any way.]

Contents of this FAQ

A. Yahoo Groups Changes

B. Groupsboxes

C. Groupsbox Setup

D. Data Transfer (Bandwidth) and Storage Space

E. Groupsbox Interface

F. Other Questions

A. Yahoo Groups Changes

B. Groupsboxes

B. Groupsbox Setup

D. Data Transfer (Bandwidth) and Storage Space

E. Groupsbox Interface

F. Other Questions