[uf-discuss] Mailing list debate moved & new proposal

[Colin Barrett]

On Oct 31, 2006, at 4:53 PM, John Allsopp wrote:

> Andy,
>
> On 01/11/2006, at 9:04 AM, Andy Mabbett wrote:
>
>> That may be technically possible, but it's not going to appeal to the
>> people I referred to in my earlier post:
>>
>>         For example, several academic and professional taxonomists  
>> have
>>         told me in e-mail that they would be interested in the  
>> species
>>         proposal, (and one astronomer, likewise, for mars/ luna),  
>> but do
>>         not have the time to follow a general mailing list; indeed, a
>>         couple asked me specifically if I would set up a separate
>>         mailing list for the subject.
>>
>> How do you suggest that we engage such people?
>
> I reiterate my suggestion for a "modern" forum like BBPress, where  
> you can subscribe via RSS to individual threads, where threads can  
> be tagged, where searching is much less of a pain than with a  
> mailing list ...

I don't like forums because I have to go to a website to use them. I'd  
much rather work from my email client, which has a nice big text box,  
unlike a forum, which often have ridiculously small text entry  
elements. Plus, the UI in my email client is much nicer than that of  
most forums.

There are a host of other disadvantages to using a forum.

Granted, mailing lists aren't perfect, but we have one now and it  
works. Forums also require a bit more administration than a mailing  
list, and our list administrators are already over-worked, it seems.

-Colin