REIA of Oakland offers both a Discussion Board and Discussion Groups.  What's the difference, you ask?

The Discussion Board allows users to post questions on the website which can be viewed and answered by other users.  It works like a community bulletin board.

Pros:

• Anyone that visits the website discussion board will see your posting

Cons:

• Users must visit the website and check for new questions or answers
• There is no way to be automatically notified when someone answers your question, you must visit the website periodically to check for new postings

The Discussion Groups, on the other hand, work through email.  Users send an email to the group, and the message is automatically forwarded to everyone in the group.  For instance, if you send an email to the [Foreclosures] group, anyone that signed up for the Foreclosure Discussion Group will receive the email.  Members can then answer the email, and the answer will also be forwarded to everyone in the group.  It works like a group email account.

Pros:

• Your question is immediately emailed to everyone in the group, so questions receive quick answers
• Since you receive answers automatically via email, there is no need to periodically check the website

Cons:

• Depending on the amount of activity in the group, you may receive numerous emails