Yahoo groups data update

[shadowscast]

Regarding getting the data from Yahoo groups:

I finally got the data which I had requested from Yahoo directly by following their not-very-clear "request your data" instructions (involving going through the "privacy dashboard"). (I requested the data on 2019-10-16 and I got it on 2019-10-26.)

It arrived as a zip file, which, when unzipped, had a folder for each of the groups I was a member of (not just the one I moderated).

Each of the group folders had three folders in it: files, links, and messages (also zipped, initially).

Unzipping the "files" folder yielded all of the files that had been in the group's files section, with subfolders intact. So that's pretty handy, I guess.

Unzipping the "links" folder yielded files which Windows tells me are of the type "internet shortcut", but which I cannot figure out how to open. Anyway, each one is about 200 bytes.

Unzipping the "messages" folder yielded one file with a name like: 2215412.mbox.00001
(Update: Whoops, when I wrote that I had only looked at the smaller group. For the larger groups, there are multiple mbox files, with the suffixes 00001, 00002, etc. Each one had a maximum file size of about 10,244 KB—so I guess the bigger message archives got broken into chunks, which makes sense.)

At first I wasn't sure what that was, but after some googling I figured out that it was a saved-emails file format.

I downloaded Thunderbird, an email client, and followed the instructions found on this page:
https://www.wintips.org/how-to-open-mbox-files-in-thunderbird/

After doing that, I was able to view all of the group's email messages in Thunderbird.

Update: After writing this post, I saw that there's now a Yahoo Groups Fandom Rescue Project Tumbler, which has a post with essentially the same information I just discovered for myself: Yahoo Groups Deletion: Requesting Your Groups

But they mention that not all files from the "files" section of the groups seem to be necessarily always included, so that's a warning.

And morgandawn has the same info in a Dreamwidth post: Yahoo Groups Deletion: Requesting Your Groups

Update 2: I think I've figured out what's up with the missing photos. See this comment below.

Comments

[catwoman69y2k]

Okay, this makes me feel better. In using the Yahoo tools (from the Get My Data section in Groups), I had the same problem where the zip file contained my files but left everything empty as far as the photos zip file (that was contained within). Question: What did PGOffline do regarding the photos' captions? Or is that something you are going to have to manually pair back (if you even want to) from one of the json files?

Since it seems more and more that PGOffline is the way people are going to have to go, would you have any background info on this tool as far as whether it could be trusted? One thing that has made me hesitant about what alteratives I implore is the fact that some of my groups' members are no longer with us and so I cannot get consent from all my members regarding the possibility of sharing or reposting the content. However, I *do* need to make sure I get all the photos before 12/14

[shadowscast]

What did PGOffline do regarding the photos' captions?

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by captions, but when I look at the photos at the Yahoo group page, each one has some kind of name given by the uploader (is that what you mean by caption?) plus the uploader's name and date. In the files saved by PG Offline, the photos' file names are the names given by the uploader, but the name of the uploader and the date are not attached to the photo in any way that I can see.

Note: if the photos had been organized into a folder within the Yahoo groups photo section (in the Yahoo interface they're called "Albums"), PG Offline will put them in a subfolder of that name.

Since it seems more and more that PGOffline is the way people are going to have to go, would you have any background info on this tool as far as whether it could be trusted?

What I can tell you is this:

1) I have downloaded and used it without any problems.

2) A lot of other people in fandom have reported downloading and using it without any problems.

3) The writer of the software is actively answering people's questions in his help forum, seems very friendly, and is aware that lots of people are now using the software to archive Yahoo groups before it's too late.

[catwoman69y2k]

One more question... were you ever working with PGOffline and a private group. This is one concern I have, as the groups Im trying to save did get put under the adult classification (as far as Yahoo policy at some of those evolutions in the timeline. ) I think that is how we became private. Realize that could be a problem for some tools (and Im wondering if thats somehow why photos was the one thing that Yahoo's data export couldnt retrieve for me).

[shadowscast]

My group that I used PG Offline for was restricted, meaning only members can see the message logs and files. PG Offline gets you to put in your Yahoo username and password so that it can acccess the group; the PG Offline software info tells you that the username and password are saved only locally, on your computer (and I have no reason to disbelieve it).