[Web4lib] Are e-mail discussion lists still relevant?

[James Day]

I have wondered over the years as to why librarians still like their email
lists.  In Libraries, online discussion forums (or bulletin boards) are a
completely overlooked Web 2.0 service.  Within many other industries and
communities, forums are much more prevalent.  Forums can be thought of as a
collection of mini blogs where everyone is equal and free to start a
discussion and get comments.  They have the following advantages:

* Forums are Web-based rather than email-based.

* Forums are instant archives and searchable immediately without having to
try to find out where the email archives are located.

* Forums can be subscribed to so that you will receive an email notification
when a new comment has be made; the emails can even include the post content
so you have, in effect, an email list built in.

* Forums are still asynchronous, yet can provide the ability for real-time,
instant message-like communication.

* Forums can be as public or private as the administrators and members wish.
Individual forums can be hidden unless the person is registered and belongs
to an appropriate group.

* Forums do not display your email address when you post but allow for the
sending of email or private messages via the forums.

Forums (or bulletin boards) ARE social networking sites: they allow avatars
and profiles and friends and such.  But forums are FOCUSED services and
discussion content is the main draw.  They don't have to be as general as
Facebook or even Ning, but small Web "silos" which can have more exposure
than an email list.  Much forum software (such as phpBB and YaBB) is open
source and is even included as a module in Drupal.

I'm willing to test whether librarians prefer email lists or are ready to
try online forums.  Recently I built a website with a blog and discussion
forums for just this reason (and nicely integrated WordPress with phpBB for
a seamless look).  It is a GENERAL librarian discussion site, not
specifically for just the tech geeks among us.  The website is called
LibraryPros with the blog at http://librarypros.com and the discussion
forums at http://librarypros.com/forums.  Let me know what you think, via
forum or email list.

James Day