[SpiralOcean]

That's correct Steve. If you want to subscribe to a thread you can do so by clicking on the Thread Tools then Subscribe to this thread.

For me, the problem with mailing lists is if I want more information about a post, it's extremely difficult to find the information. (see Apple's email lists for an example).

Having an RSS feed set up for a forum, allows me to get the first message of a thread. If I want to check it out, I click on the read more link. If I don't, I delete.

It's the best of both worlds. Email list and forum.

To subscribe to a forum, click on the forum so you see all the threads, then look for the RSS logo (in Safari it's in the address bar). Click on it to see the threads. Then on the right side (in Safari) click on the subscribe in mail.

This is only one example of many different ways to subscribe to an RSS feed.