They may need a little training in learning how to navigate through the message list , reply to a message to keep it in context, and how to add formatting Such boards also allow the additions of links and images and these do require more training. I'm not sure why they used these terms because I think hey tend to confuse people. Usenet News is really a variation on the email list where discussions on special interest are held. While Usenet groups are still active my personal opinion is that the technology has been overtaken by Web Boards of one sort or another. But as with email list, you may find a special interest group that is of use to your students which would make it worth learning how to use this tool.
Many organizations maintain such servers.
The two most popular Web browsers include capabilities for reading News. You can also obtain special software designed for this purpose and its inexpensive and easy to use. The answer is, there are thousands of excellent discussions with along history available on Usenet, so you may find what you want there. This is sort of a combination of the concepts of email, chat, and a pager. It also can be seen as a private chat, though you can set up conferences with it as well.