Mailing lists serve a similar purpose to newsgroups: They're both excellent ways to stay in-the-know about your favorite hobby, obsession, or fetish. The main difference is that you go to a newsgroup to check out what people have been saying, but by subscribing to a mailing list, the mountain comes to Muhammad - the latest contribution is sent to you via email. And any time you send email to a mailing list, everyone who subscribes to that list gets it. Unfortunately, because mailing lists and newsgroups are so topic specific, they're ripe for spamming. (What better way to advertise your latest widget than in a forum that caters to widget fiends?) But even if it means wading through unwanted get-rich-quick email (which can actually be filtered out with spam-zapping software), the wealth of up-to-the-minute news, opinion, and gossip still make mailing lists and newsgroups valuable resources. See: Email List