My parting MSNBC message is likely to disappear soon so I'm posting a similar message here. The closing message at MSBC recommends visiting msn communities for future discussion after msnbc shuts down their boards. It's a generic recommendation though. After a little surfing I found this page listing space discussion "communities":
http://communities.msn.com/Browse?CatId=299

Anyone here participate in any of these? Which ones are worthwhile?

I'd also like to get a current rating on the space news
sites. Mine have changed over time and I'm curious if
anyone else has found a new site of value.

My ratings:

1) Spacedaily (http://www.spacedaily.com/ or
http://www.spacer.com/)
Why?: Wide range of topics with many original reports
that aren't simply copies of news-wire reports and press releases. The reporters know enough to ask good questions. Updates occur frequently. Many good links to related info. Have reported quickly on many breaking stories.

2) Spaceflight now
(http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/index.html)
Why?: Variety and speed similar to spacedaily with a
little more depth on spaceflight. More reliance on wire
reports and press releases

3) Space.com (http://www.space.com/news/index.html)
Why?: Too much reliance on wire reports and too many uncritical reports of dubious science to get top billing, but breadth of reporting makes it a good stop.
Read MSNBC instead if they are sharing the story.

4) MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.com/news/spacenews_front.asp)
Why?: Better than most in terms of graphics, pluggins and outside links, but generally slower and less news covered.

5) Spaceref (http://www.spaceref.com/)
why?: A mediocre news site in general relying mostly on press releases and wire reports, but often contains in depth unique articles you won't find any where else. It is more valuable as a space reference than a news site. Many excellent links to space information.

6) Marsnews.com (http://www.marsnews.com/)
Why?: Limited focus on Mars, but a great place to keep up to date on all Mars news. Jim Burk and team scour the net for any Mars related news and post links to it. One problem though is that editor Jim Burk is a software guy and often posts links to mars related articles of questionable scientific value without editorial comment.

7) Nasawatch: (http://www.nasawatch.com/index.html)
why?: A great source of insider news and gossip. The amount of gossip is a negative for me. It turns out wrong a fair amount of the time, but you may often hear news first from NASA watch. Beware of Keith's penchant for jumping on anyone in an authority position. He can really get you down on someone if you don't keep in mind everyone makes mistakes. He won't be pointing out the successes of those people in the same article.

To Mars and the stars,
Mark