Perhaps when a new maintainer is appointed for a library there could be a formal introduction to the mailing list, and the new maintainer receives some kind of instruction so they can learn about customs such as the mailing list, the desire to avoid breaking existing users, and the encouragement to maintain a two-way dialog when making big changes. Maybe it is not too late to do this?
Such a great idea for making the ML a welcoming place; I love this :D Also Nana, I am a very naive user of Boost Spirit/X3 (that is without sehe's help I would never have gotten far) so I would be happy to serve as a candid reader of your new docs :3 If I learned something from the ML it is that no unique channel of communication will be able to bring us together ;) That being said, I will go to your Github link for the chat. Welcome Nana! Arno