Dear G. M.!

That RSS ist no usable solution, because it is … let’s say »passive« while an e-mail is »active«:

Not necessarily.

My e-mail client checks new mail periodically, so I got informed about your posting! :)

Only because you have configured your e-mail client in such a way that it logs in at the server and ‘looks’ for new messages.

Nobody looks up the RSS every 10 minutes.

Nobody opens his apartment door every 10 minutes for checking if someone is there. Why? It’s simple: There’s a bell at the door.

Well, obviously you have configured your client in exactly this way. Anybody is free to set up the feed-reader to do exactly the same job (go downstairs and have a look – an e-mail does not ‘ring the bell’).

BTW, I have configured my forum (v1.8) in such a way that all users may opt-in for e-mail notifications – but:

• only as a last resort (many users from developing countries – still IE6 on W2K, their company’s policy sometimes does not allow installation of feed-readers),
  
• by default switched off; users are discouraged to opt-in until deemed necessary,
  
• you might get annoying bounces if a user’s e-mail is not valid any more – in that case an admin has to change his settings.