Lost Groups

[JudiLynn India]

I have a question about two groups:
1. I asked another user for use of of his group and he was happy to relinquish it to me because he appreciated what I would use it for. I was very grateful to him.
And I always make sure to have my alt join so I don't lose it.  However, I was delayed in using it and when I finally went to use it I found I no longer had it and another person was now using it!  How could this happen??  And she will not let it go. I feel so bad about the original owner giving it up just for it to be snatched away from me. Do we lose groups if we go back to basic temporarily? I can't see how she could have taken the group name otherwise.

2. I want to use the name of a group for a venue that my alt used 9 years ago. I don't think she actually created a group for it back then, but I did a search and it doesn't come up as a group today. But when I try to create it, I get a message saying that it's already in use.  How can a group be in use but not showing up anywhere? Searches say it doesn't exit!  Am I going nuts?

[Mollymews]

even when a group is closed, the name of the group can't be reused

best we can do is say our now closed group was "ABC" then we can add some char(s) to make our new group sound-like the old. E.g.  "-ABC-"

[Tari Landar]

1. If the person gave you the group, but you did not get another member in there (such as your alt, for example) within I think it's 48 hours, but it might be 24 (someone please correct me), the group will basically disband. The group is essentially deleted from the database, and then if someone else wants to use that group name, since it becomes available again, they can. Or, at least, that's how it was for years, I imagine that part hasn't changed at all. If, however LL has it so that once a name is used it can never be used again (I'm not certain that's the case, to be honest, even though I've read it elsewhere, as I have had my family group name twice now-because I flubbed the first one up when I made it, let it close and then remade it again using the exact same name), it's entirely possible that your old friend that gave you use of the group, then gave use of that group to someone else because you didn't show any further interest. 

2. Not all groups show in search. If it tells you the group name is not available, it's because someone is using it. You might not see it in search because the group owner has to check a box so that it will show in search. 

Edited October 13, 2019 by Tari Landar

[Mollymews]

on your question 1, for the person to not relequish the group then that person has to have been added as an owner by another group owner. If you are not in the group npw then the group founder never added you as an owner