snip
What do you think is attractive about web forums? I hate them, because
you can't read them offline, nor can you decently track what you have
read and what not. Get a decent newsreader to follow this, and you'll
see what I mean.

I also dislike web forums as I find them MUCH slower to read, because each
post (or group of posts) must be loaded separately and this is SLOW even on
my broadband connection. I find it easier to scan the threads on Usenet and
avoid threads (or posters) that I have no interest in reading. I can also
easily mark the threads I am interested in following.

Just my .02