For novices i think it is difficult to read these mailing lists.
I think that it would be an idea to have the mailing lists
archived to google groups (which i believe is possible)
If you are worried about the possibility of spam etc we could
set the group to announce, so it is viewable on google groups
but to reply users must sign up in usual way. It would then just
be like a mirror of this groups messages but more easily viewed.
Just a suggestion
Thanks
George