What is Public Online Discussion Groups

Online, e-mail-based discussion groups are contemporary examples of an historical tradition of voluntary, informal, learning groups used by adults for topical discussion, fellowship, and learning. Because the discussion among group members takes the form of e-mail exchanges, they are also been likened to historical correspondence networks. This chapter sets the historical context of the e-mail-based discussion groups that preceded the extensive use of bulletin-board style discussion forums in contemporary learning management systems.