I've mostly stopped reading technical mailing lists
The foremost use of a technically oriented public communication space is<p>1) Access to experienced persons with a depth of knowledge that exceeds your own<p>2) Whatever good feelings one gets from staying informed about technology and helping others with issues<p>3. Archiving the knowledge and the solutions contained within the space<p>In #3 mailing lists fail splendidly.<p>* I have never been able to easily follow a archived mailing list thread (why do the reply links bounce around and never are in chronological order?).<p>* they tend to be rarely searchable from the web.<p>* If one does not know the people on the list and their reputations and bona fides, evaluating the accuracy of information is difficult<p>* They are scattered all over the place and are un-findable unless you know exactly where to look<p>For the reasons above any sort of web forum or reddit-like platform is preferable for posterity as long as the information remains accessible on that platform.