Not that anybody besides me cares, but I might as well close up this
dangling thread.
After much trouble, I convinced the Help Desk to bump this up to the
campus Google Apps admin for clarification. I got the following
response from Felicia, which I quote in full (leaving off the stock
closing paragraph):
/-------------------
Hello David,
Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to do some testing and run my
answer by Google.
The Google Apps for Education Edition used by Michigan State State
University has only enabled apps that are covered by our agreement
with Google, also known as core apps. Consumer apps such as Google+,
YouTube, Picasa, and Google Groups have not been enabled because they
are not covered by our agreement with Google. If you would like to
join a group outside of Michigan State University, like a public
group, you will either need to have the moderator of that group
directly add you, or you will need to use a consumer Google account
like a Gmail. If the moderator directly adds your msu.edu email to
the group, posting is prohibited via the Google Groups user interface
when the Google Groups
consumer app is disabled. You can still post to the group via email
if the group's settings allow for email posts by members. Google says
that this is "expected behavior."
Consumer apps can be enabled for a Google Apps Education Edition
domain. However, everyone at MSU will be asked to agree to the
consumer ToS. If someone chooses not to agree, they will not be
allowed to access the core apps or consumer app. Also, Google will
not support consumer apps. So, if there was a problem, IT Services
cannot contact Google for help like we can with the core apps. As
stated above, consumer apps do not fall under the MSU agreement with
Google either. Data in consumer apps can be mined for ads, etc. like
any Gmail account.
A separate core app called Google Groups for Business is available,
but not enabled for our MSU Google Apps Education Edition domain. I
have been given the go-ahead to move forward with adding this core
app to our Google Apps Education Edition offerings. I will need to go
through the formal IT Services change management process, so it may
take a few days to a few weeks to get final approval. With Google
Groups for Business, you can create groups in the MSU Google Apps
Education Edition, but it will not help you with joining groups
outside of our domain. I will likely post a news release about this
at http://tech.msu.edu/news/ (past articles are at
http://tech.msu.edu/news/tag/google-apps-for-education-edition/).
\-------------------
At 10/24/2012 02:02 PM Wednesday, David McFarlane wrote:
>At the risk of being a troll...
>
>I don't know why that should cause confusion -- use MSU Listserv for
>MSU groups, and reserve Google Groups, Facebook Groups, etc. for
>groups that go beyond campus.
>
>E.g., the one Google Group that I still belong to using my MSU
>e-mail is an international Group just for people using a specialized
>software platform for behavioral research. Joining the group means
>that I can get new posts automatically by e-mail (instead of having
>to manually go out to the web), I can post questions, and I can post
>answers for others. As a direct result of my participation in that
>Group, I have become the world's leading public authority for that
>specialized platform, my department has now parlayed that into
>making money through an online course based on my expertise, and I
>continue to promote the course through the Group. That would not
>have happened without my having access, through my MSU e-mail, to
>Google Groups.
>
>Now we have another specialized platform for me to learn. That
>platform has two Google Groups, one for general users, another for
>developers of the platform itself. Lack of access to Google Groups
>through my MSU e-mail seriously impedes my work at MSU. I wouldn't
>mind if campus has a general blockage of Google Groups, with an
>override provision on a case-by-case basis (faculty has already
>written an exemption case for me, without my asking), but we do not
>seem to have even that much.
>
>To repeat, have folks use MSU Listserve for MSU groups, and allow
>Google Groups and the like specifically for wider groups. Problem solved.
>
>-- dkm
>
>
>Leo Sell wrote:
>>Sorry, I can't elaborate. I can only provide info, LOL.
>>I know we've been very very conservative about the addition of new
>>"features" or services with googleapps.msu.edu. One small concern I
>>have about allowing Google Groups is whether it would result in
>>confusion about when to use MSU Listserv and when it's
>>OK/appropriate to use groups.
>>/L
>>
>>On 10/24/12 11:08 AM, David McFarlane wrote:
>>>That's great. I am aware of pros for allowing access to Google
>>>Groups, but no cons. Any chance you could elaborate? Maybe I
>>>just don't understand Google Groups "for Business".
>>>
>>>Thanks,
>>>-- dkm
>>>
>>>
>>>Leo Sell wrote:
>>>>We've initiated an assessment of the pros/cons of adding Google
>>>>Groups for Business. /Leo
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>On 10/23/12 3:32 PM, David McFarlane wrote:
>>>>>I just learned that full access to Google Groups from MSU
>>>>>accounts are not allowed (this came as a surprise because I do
>>>>>have access to one Group that was grandfathered in, but don't tell anyone!).
>>>>>Why??!! I need to join two specific Google Groups as part of my
>>>>>job. How does the university expect me to do that?
>>>>>
>>>>>-- dkm
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