Long before there were web-based discussion boards there were usenet newsgroups. Thousands of these groups are still active -- including rec.crafts.glass.
The rec.crafts.glass newsgroup has participants from all corners of the glass art world -- blowers, flameworkers, kilnformed and stained glass. Traffic tends to be much lighter (200 - 300 messages a month) than some of the more popular boards but most questions get answered quickly. And it can be eye-opening to read or contribute to conversations with artists who work with glass differently that one does themselves.
In the same way that websites require a browser, newsgroups once required a newsreader. Today there are a number of websites that provide access to these newsgroups without the need for a newsreader. The most popular is probably Google Groups.
An added advantage of using Google Groups is that Google allows visitors to search usenet archives -- including the full history of more than 50,000 posts to rec.crafts.glass from the last 10 years.
