Learning log #6 - lists
What are the pros and cons of email lists versus discussion boards?

Both mailing lists and discussion boards allow you to "meet" and discuss with like minded fellows, giving one the opportunity to join communities unbound by geographical distances.

In the early days of the Internet, when download speeds were slow and even text files might take a long time to load, the most helpful feature of a mailing list was the fact that they allowed you to receive individual emails whenever a new post was made to said list. Having messages stored in your computer was a quicker and more convenient way to access them for future reference. Nevertheless, the one-dimensional nature of moderated mailing lists (only one topic was acceptable) might have been a stifling to let that form of communication truly grow. Discussion board may have different forums all revolving around different facets of a certain topic while at the same time providing a forum for 'off-topic' threads.

On the other hand, now that connections have sped up and people have a more "multimedia" approach to the Internet, mailing lists lost a part of their appeal since one cannot display pictures, gifs or videos in the body of a message, which is possible on discussion boards.


Are there certain kinds of communication or purposes more suited to one than the other?