Is there a platform where I can form a social group that permits invited members to join using any email address they have?

I’ve heard of an app called “Meet Up” which is where people can post or join gatherings of like minded individuals in the area, for example hikers or crocheters or book lovers or something like that. Then they meet up for events and meetings. I am not on it and have never tried it but maybe give it a look.

I think Slack might work well for you. It’s meant for businesses, but there’s a free option for small groups. You can get an app for your smartphone, or just use the desktop version. It’s extremely sleek and simple to use. You can message back and forth, both in the main group and with separate individuals. Sharing files is possible for both options as well. Sign-up is quick and easy. Highly recommended!

Meetup doesn’t allow group members to post photos as far as I know. I use it a lot for group meetings, but it’s just the meeting details in text format.

I started to use Slack some years ago, but never really got into it in depth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEmqVW117II

Here is one video which shows how to do this. ( to make a private group board).

Maybe Trello?

Yeah, meetup would not be a good platform for this use.

My high school reunion group moved from Yahoo groups to this platform. It is free and looks like what you are looking for:

https://groups.io/

Good luck!

I just looked at groups.io and it seems to fit. I made a small test group but it needs to be approved. I really like that other people can be moderators and admins.
I will check out the other suggestions now .

Slack’s what we use, too.

Groups.io if you want a listserve.

Google Groups requires you have a Google account (not a Gmail address). And when you create a Google Account, there is an option to “Use my current email address instead” of making a new Gmail address.

It’s kind of confusing though. One of the options already mentioned above might be easier when you’re wrangling members.

Discord is kind of like Slack, but more for gamers. Would also work.

I made a test group on grouo io and with email addresses from gmail, outlook and yahoo and so far it seems perfect. Members join by invitation only, and the first 2 posts they make are moderated to rule out any crazy talk.
I successfully ran it with a full ad blocker and checked for trackers finding none. I’ll experiment with it for another couple of days to see if I’ve missed anything but this seems like a good place to start .

We are planning a get together to honor a teacher we had in elementary school in the early 1960s. May 2nd is teacher appreciation day so we’re aiming for a day around then. Incredibly one of the “kids” in the class was able to recite from memory everyone in the class in the order they sat in the room! We used his name list to track down most of the class. Quite a feat!

Thanks for your info with this. It is really helpful.
I love this place!