The difference is very simple: with forums, you, the reader, have to go to the messages. With mailing lists, the messages come to you. Forums have the further difference that you can set up a forum subdivided into different subjects. Some people prefer one, some prefer the other. However, when there's a successful mailing list already running (such as this one), setting up a web-based forum for reasons that are essentially spurious (i.e. claims that web forums are inherently better) may have the effect of balkanizing discussion. As matters stand, if you want to read all online discussion of, say, trilliums, you have to look in quite a number of places. This is not good, but I cannot propose any solution. What I detest is ineffective moderation. I used to subscribe to alpine-l when Harry Dewey was running it, but when a message came through from someone asking about how to grow petunias, I unsubscribed. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island http://maps.google.ca/maps/…