This was originally posted on the "comp.lang.java" Usenet group (read about Usenet on Wikipedia if that was before your time). A website called "DejaNews" used to archive Usenet content, and provide a way for noobs to post via the web. Google bought DejaNews almost 15 years ago, and rebranded it as "Google Groups".

Eventually, Google Groups came to be a glorified mailing list service. However, originally it was just a web wrapper around Usenet... and can still be used for that today.