Forums and discussion lists are two popular ways that a large number of people can contribute to a conversation. Forums host the conversation on a website while discussion lists are delivered by email directly to your inbox. The primary reason a group might choose to use a mailing list rather than a forum to host conversation has to do with the frequency with which posts are made and the importance of receiving posts promptly. Mailing lists are ideal for conversations that are posted to sporadically, but in which receiving messages promptly is important. For this reason, mailing lists are a popular way for technical communities to stay in touch without requiring that every community member visits a forum site every day to check for updates.