eGroups provides free mailing lists (listserv, majordomo, you know) that you can use. There are so many - try searching for any topic you are interested in, there is sure to be at least one group. Many have public message archives, so it's sort of like Usenet. But lately eGroups has been getting obnoxious by putting their ads at the *top* of emails. I hope they will see the light and rescind this policy. There are competitors out there, y'know, like Topica.