Have just setup a mailing list for a group of people I know (mainly to use as a discussion forum). Have been surprised by the number of them that have not really understood what the concept of an email list is until you explain it to them.

Then again, I suppose I'm always quite shocked when someone I know says they don't have email.

I suppose it all comes of being a part of a generation where computers have been a widespread household object for almost the whole of my life (whether it's the commodore 64s we had at home when I was young or the modern PC I have now). If I had experienced adult life without them being such a key part of modern life, would I be so aware of these concepts?

If I'd spent a reasonable amount of my adult life without there being such a thing as email, would I be bothered to even investigate trying it out?

Does my familiarity with these things and the fact that I pretty much take for granted that they're there, just make me assume everyone else does too? There must be hundreds of people out there who haven't investigated technology to the extent of discovering fairly basic concepts such as an email lists.