Re: Replacing the ML with a forum

From: Vinnie Falco (vinnie.falco_at_[hidden])
Date: 2023-04-26 15:02:36

On Wed, Apr 26, 2023 at 7:34 AM Andrea Bocci <andrea.bocci_at_[hidden]> wrote:
> Very simply, if you replace the mailing list(s) with a forum (or fora),
> I will stop following any Boost discussion.

Yes, thank you for pointing this out. And I am sure many other people
feel this way, so I want to stress the following:

* Our number one priority is to preserve the mailing list experience
for those who want to continue using it.

What we are envisioning is:

1. Deploying or implementing a threaded-discussion forum
    - No existing solution meets our needs, so we have to write it ourselves

2. Importing the entire existing mailing list archive
    - No messages lost, and posts are tied to the corresponding
boost.org account
    - No disruption of existing conversations

3. Implementing an email gateway to the forum
    - Basically a port of mailman to python,
    - and integrated into our custom forum
    - mail users' experience is unchanged despite using new software
on the backend

Initially the forums will exactly mirror our mailing lists:

    * Announcements Forum
    * Developer's Forum
    * User's Forum

This makes the import simple and makes subscribing via email the same
as before (3 lists).

At first the "forum" will just be a read-only port of the mailing list
archive interface, a nicer way to view the archives inline with the
website. We will then build it out, by adding a way to post directly
from the site, and so on. At every step the mailing list interface
will continue to work as before, the web-based interface will be in
addition to the mailing list interface, not to replace it.

I hope this clears things up!!!!

Thanks