Mailing list vs. Forum

[djfoxyfox]

Hi Guys, ,

I just walked into this room!

Howard said:
My impression is that most people working on open source hate mailing lists.

I only have mailing list experience, so this is all very new to me. It certainly looks great and appears functional. Well, it's time to start inviting people and making new forums... fori? fora?

[mosc]

Ah, the subject of mailing list vs. the forum:

Yes, people that use forum HATE mailing lists, but as Greg pointed out, mailing list people like it that the members get the messages immediately; they don't have to check into the web site. One way around that is to have people subscribe to a forum so that they'll get a notice when a new post is up. This software will automatically put you on the "watch list" if you reply to a topic, or start one. You can manually add yourself to the watch list at the bottom of the topic lists too. But so far I can't find a way to subscribe a person to an entire forum, unless they are the moderator.

This and integrating the forum with the store is what I'm working on now.

This is a good topic, so I'm going to move your message to start this topic and this will be the first response.

[egw]

I think there's a need for both forums and mailing lists.
People who like forums probably like the fact that they don't get bombarded with email. So the option of being notified whenever there's a post won't work because most people won't sign up for it.
Forums require active participation, mailing lists are more passive.
Which is better really depends on the application and personal habits of the user.

[egw]

one other point - I'm on dozens of mailing lists, but I could never follow that many forums. I only use about 2 or 3 forums regularly (including this one).

Forums are probably best for the areas where you have a strong interest. Lists are for things you might want to hear about, but don't want to bother to go check every day.