How To Beat Yahoo Groups

Friends,

I have a lot of friends that use Yahoo Groups.  I want to steal them away because I HATE Yahoo's system and all their millions of ads.

The problem has been that I almost get people converted over to a forum but then they ask, "Can I reply to the posts using my email?"   That's the deal breaker right there.   Many of these people are computer illiterate and if it is beyond sending an email they won't do it.

So, my questions:

1)  Is there any way to make PunBB comparable to a Yahoo Groups type system where people can email their replies?
2)  Is there a script that is (almost) as good as PunBB that I can have people use instead of Yahoo Groups?

Thanks!