Not unexpectedly, in this realm Google is leading the pack. What is Google Groups? ... According to Wikipedia: Google Groups is "a free service from Google where groups of people have discussions about common interests. Internet users can find discussion groups related to their interests and participate in threaded conversations, either through the Google Groups web interface, or by e-mail."
You can join a group or start one. For more information, see the Google Groups home page: http://groups.google.com/
Discussion Groups are available from other providers, but Google Groups offers the most features and the fewest annoyances. Here are 13 reasons why I prefer Google to the other leading Groups provider. Google Groups gives you:
1. A Better Privacy Policy. With Yahoo Groups, every so often you'll need to check your privacy settings and "opt out" of unwanted offers.
2. Less spam. ...
3. Less advertising.
4. Safer browsing. ... Some of those Yahoo banner ads might contain malware — which can be blocked by the Firefox browser add-on "No Script". However using "No Script" with Yahoo often renders Yahoo services unusable.
5. Faster and More Efficient Search. Find old messages faster: no need to keep them in your email, just search the Google pages.
6. Advanced Discussion Format, which keeps the topic together in one post.
7. Pages Feature. You can create web pages with useful information, which can be edited either by Group managers, or by all the members.
8. Less Noise. ... I first thought of switching from Yahoo Groups to Google, after the bottom of my Yahoo Groups home page displayed "Yahoo Answers", with the question: "How do i let God into my life?"
9. Longevity. ... Ever had a Yahoo email address, log in to Yahoo, and then find that all your emails have been deleted? ... Yahoo zaps your account if you don't log in for a while. Google — last time I looked — gave me an inactivity grace period of three times as long.
10. Favorites Feature. ... Click the "star" beside a Google Groups message, and you've added to your "Favorites" list. Then click
Favorites, and your list appears.
11. Easier Management. For the list owners and managers: it's easier to add members in bulk, and to tweak settings.
12. More options with each message. At the bottom of each post, Google gives me these choices: Reply | Reply to author | Forward | Print | Individual message | Show original | Report this message | Find messages by this author.
13. Integration with other free Google Services. ... If you're using Gmail or Google Documents, you're one click away from your Google Groups, and vice versa.