BAI Listserv FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
The New Listserv:
Gaggle Mail is Beth Am’s new listserv provider (replacing jtsa.edu). Gaggle was selected by a BAI member task force of your peers and approved by our lay leadership.
No. You can do most things in Gaggle without an account. You only need an account to do a few advanced things — like view the listserv archive or fully use the Daily Digest features. If you need to create an account, click on My Settings at the bottom of any email. On your Membership Page, follow the link or instructions to create an account.
You can read Gaggle’s Terms and Conditions here: https://www.gaggle.net/terms-conditions
You can read Gaggle’s Service Level Agreement here: https://www.gaggle.net/service-level-agreement
Like you, all Beth Am-ers are included in the launch of our new listservs. We want everyone to have a fresh opportunity to try out this upgraded community connections tool. (And for some of us, it’s been many years since we made a decision opt out.) Our lay leadership decided on this approach – so please don’t complain to Lori, Rabbi David, Hazzan Harold or Cantor Jenn! 😉
If you’d like to receive fewer listserv emails while still staying connected, you might like the “Daily Digest” option. See the FAQ section “How can I receive fewer emails?” We encourage you to experience the listserv for a bit before making a decision about your participation. You can unsubscribe at the bottom of any email on that listserv.
With our new Gaggle listservs, you can:
- include images in your emails! (share a pic of that new baby!)
- send attachments!
- block additional messages in a conversation (if you don’t want to read more in a particular exchange)
- control your own options and features (you don’t need to ask the list administrator)
- search the listserv archive (for finding those old recommendations for an electrician). Searching the archive is the only one of the above features that requires you to create a Gaggle account.
BAI-Share is the new listserv name for BAI-TALK. This is our listserv for sharing and seeking info about Beth Am and the members of our community. We changed the listserv name to better reflect what the listserv is all about — sharing and building community.
What messages can I post on BAI-Share?
All posts must meet our BAI Code of Civility and Respect.
BAI-Share is intended for members to share info about Beth Am and our members. Generally, appropriate content for posting falls into these categories: BAI Events and Announcements; Member Announcements; Requests for Services/Info; Items Needed/For Sale/Giveaway; Job Postings/Job Seeking; Member Professional & Business Services and Advertising (limited); Local Community Events/Announcements.
For guidance on what’s appropriate to post (and what isn’t), see our Posting Guide and Posting Infographic. These materials are intended as a helpful summary of our official policy for posting on BAI-Share and BAI-Discuss. In the Posting Guide document, you can also read the full, official Listserv Policies on what can be posted to each listserv.
If you’re unsure about whether a post is appropriate for this Listserv, we urge you to contact our Listserv Oversight Committee at BAI-LOC+admin@gaggle.email. For more on our member-led approach to upholding our community’s listserv standards, see the FAQs on Our Listserv Etiquette and Policies.
BAI-Discuss is the new listserv name for BAI-FORUM. We changed the name to better reflect what this listserv is all about — discussing the ideas and issues of the day beyond BAI.
What messages can I post on BAI-Discuss?
All posts must meet our BAI Code of Civility and Respect.
BAI-Discuss is intended for members who wish to engage in issues-oriented discussions and postings with other members who are similarly inclined. Topics for discussion include: current events; politics; Israel; the Jewish world; social, cultural, and historical issues; other far-ranging topics of the day. The purpose of BAI-Discuss is to exchange points of view; raise ideas that challenge our thinking; and gain new insights that lead to learning, growth and understanding.
For guidance on what’s appropriate to post (and what isn’t), see page 2 of our Posting Guide, and also our Posting Infographic. These materials are intended as a helpful summary of our official policy for posting on BAI-Discuss and BAI-Share. In the same document as the Posting Guide, you can also read the full, official Listserv Policies on what can be posted to each listserv.
If you’re unsure about whether a post is appropriate for this Listserv, we urge you to contact our Listserv Oversight Committee at BAI-LOC+admin@gaggle.email. For more on our member-led approach to upholding our community’s listservs standards, see the FAQs on Our Listserv Etiquette and Policies.
The Basics (Sending and Receiving Emails):
Once you’ve received a “Welcome” email from BAI-Share via Gaggle, you can send an email to bai-share@gaggle.email and it will go to everyone on the listserv. That’s all there is to it!
If you don’t see any BAI listserv emails from Gaggle in your inbox, read the FAQ with this title.
Just like you reply to any other message in your inbox. To send your response to the entire listserv, choose Reply All. To reply only to the sender of the original email, choose Reply. Or use the links at the bottom of each listserv email.
Have you had enough of a particular email conversation (sometimes called a “thread”)? In the footer of such an email, click Mute this Thread. Voila! Further emails with this same subject line will not grace your inbox.
To unsubscribe, simply click the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email message. You will be disconnected from the listserv which sent that email (e.g. bai-share@gaggle.email or bai-discuss@gaggle.email.)
You can keep one listerv active and unsubscribe from another. You will need to unsubscribe separately from each listserv from which you want to disconnect.
We have intentionally used your official BAI email address to roll out the Gaggle listservs (even if you used a different email address for the TALK or FORUM listserv). We did this to ensure that everyone is included and that we didn’t omit anyone inadvertently.
To change your Gaggle listserv email address*: Click on the My Settings link in your Welcome email or at the bottom of any email. From your Membership Page you can Edit your email address.*
*IMPORTANT NOTE: Our BAI policy is that you use only one email address for all your BAI Gaggle listservs, as Gaggle charges us for each email address. Your Gaggle listserv email address can be a different than BAI uses for its official email announcements to you. But use a single email address for all the Gaggle listserv to which you subscribe.
To receive fewer emails, choose the “Daily Digest” option.
You can opt to receive a day’s worth of messages all at once in a daily digest. The digest includes the full text of all initial posts and all responses received day (unlike our interim in-house listerv for the few months).
Click the My Settings link in the message footer of any email from that listserv (e,g, BAI-Share). On your Membership Page, select the Daily Digest option.
For more on the Daily Digest, click here. For more on replying to emails in the Daily Digest, click here. You will need to create a Gaggle account to take full advantage of the Digest.
If you don’t see the “Welcome” email from bai-share@gaggle.email or any emails from this sender in your inbox:
- Check your email’s Spam or Junk folder.
If you find the listserv emails in Spam or Junk, you need to pre-approve emails coming from this listserv to ensure that you receive them going forward.
Gaggle says the easiest way to do this is to add this listserv email address to your Contacts. Gaggle has instructions for how to do this on the major email services. We’re including a few here.
Gmail
- Go to https://contacts.google.com
- Click Add Contact at the bottom right of the screen
- Set contact name as “BAI-Share”
- Set contact email as bai-share@gaggle.email
Comcast
- Select “Address Book” in the top menu.
- Select “New Contact”
- From the dropdown menu, select “New Contact” (again)
- Set contact last name as “BAI-Share”
- Set contact email as bai-share@gaggle.email
- Click “Save”
For other email providers
Send an email to our Listserv Help Desk at bai-help-desk+admins@gaggle.email and ask for Gaggle’s “Email Delivery Kit.” It has instructions for listserv pre-approval for many email services. You can also try Googling “how to add a contact to _______” (your email service)
- If the Listerv messages aren’t in your Spam or Junk folder, check any other email addresses you use. (If you want to change your listserv email address, see instructions in these FAQs.)
- If you still don’t see the listserv emails, you can get help from your BAI Tech Buddies at our volunteer Help Desk. To get help, see FAQ section “I need help / I have a question.”
I Need More Help:
We want to give you the help you need! Please use the instructions below for getting assistance. Please do not call the BAI Office for help or to answer questions. Office staff are not trained on Gaggle. Our listserv is a member-driven project!
You can view six helpful How-To videos at this Youtube Playlist.
Quick Start for members: Click here
Accessing your member settings: Click here
Gaggle’s main FAQ page: Click here In the search bar, type what you’re looking for.
If you have a question about Gaggle — but don’t need to talk on the phone to a loving Beth Am member to help you get set up — send an email to bai-help-desk+admins@gaggle.email.
Gaggle is generally very easy to use, but we know that sometimes technology (and people!) can be glitchy 😊. We want everyone who wishes to have the opportunity to participate in this piece of our community’s life.
Your loving Beth Am members are volunteering as Tech Buddies to operate a Help Desk to help you get set up. Do not call the BAI Office for help. Office staff are not trained on Gaggle.
Click here to schedule live help with a BAI member
You’ll sign up for a convenient time to talk with a BAI member Tech Buddy.
If this sign-up link isn’t working for you, or if this online scheduling is beyond your techno-ability — No worries! Simply email IanKosten@gmail.com. and bai-help-desk+admins@gaggle.email. Be sure to include your name, phone number, what you need help with, and the best time of day to reach you (morning, afternoon, evening). We aim to call you back within a day or 2.
Give Us Feedback:
Please email the Listserv Task Force as follows:
For BAI-Share bai-share+admin@gaggle.email
For BAI-Discuss bai-discuss+admin@gaggle.email
As a member-led project, our Listserv Task Force would appreciate hearing from you directly about your experience. Please do not post feedback to the entire listserv. Thanks.
Email our Listserv Oversight Committee at BAI-LOC+admin@gaggle.email.