You do not need a Gmail account to join Patch-L and receive and send Patch-L posts. But there are some advantages as noted at right.
If you would like to create a Google Account, please visit the Google Accounts homepage and follow the directions on that page. (You do not have to use a gmail account if you prefer to register another email address as your google account log in). If you're a previous Google Groups or Gmail user, you can use your existing Google Account to log in to Google Groups. If you have different Google Accounts for different Google services and applications, you can't be signed in to those accounts simultaneously. If you have a Gmail window open, you'll automatically be signed in using that account when you open a Google Groups window. If you wish to use a different one of your Google Accounts instead, you'll first need to click the Sign out link in the top-right corner.
Many Google Groups activities don't require you to have a Google Account, while many others do. For a brief description of which activities require an account and which don't, please see the list at right.
Activities that don't require a Google Account:
Reading posts in public groups (Patch-L is a private group)
Searching for groups, posts, or authors
Posting to groups via email if they are unrestricted (Patch-L restricts posts to members - you have to join to send and receive e-mail to the list) or you're already a member
Joining a public Google Group via email
Activities that require a Google Account:
Creating and managing your own Google Group
Posting to groups via our web interface instead of email
Creating pages and uploading files (for LISTOWNERS)
Subscribing to a Usenet newsgroup and receiving posts via email
Joining a Google Group via our web interface
Changing your subscription type (No Email, Digest Email...)
Reading a restricted membership group's posts (like Patch-L) online
Note: Your Google account and the email address you used to join Patch-L must be the same in order to access the web pages for the Patch-L Google Group.