[swift-evolution] [Discussion] mailing list alternative

[Erica Sadun]

> On Jan 25, 2017, at 1:05 PM, Ted Kremenek via swift-evolution <swift-evolution at swift.org> wrote:
> 
> I have no problem with the project moving to forums instead of the Mailman mailing lists we have now — if it is the right set of tradeoffs.


I like and prefer the status quo, particularly for Swift Evolution.

* The mailing lists are web searchable and provide a permanent public record. My personal mail archives formed from list traffic are even more searchable because all the data is on my computer. 

* Gmane was a painful lesson learned on why it's so important that the tools be completely owned and controlled from swift.org. It's easy enough (although not perfect) to grab a link from http://lists.swift.org <http://lists.swift.org/> archives for sharing. At most you're searching through one week.

* Topic discoverability is excellent. Each day, I need only scan the subject lines and know what's being discussed and how recently. I flag what interests me, archive the rest. When a subject that I previously archived as not interesting starts gathering momentum, I see its traffic increase. I can make a determination immediately about whether I want to continue reading.

* There is little thread-drift and off-topic chatter. List members are extremely responsible when it comes to updating subject lines or starting new threads as needed. The mailing list discourages purely social banter.

If anything, I have minor suggestions on how to improve announcements since they sometimes skip SE-Announce or have incorrect links, etc. If anyone wants my opinion on that, please contact me directly off-list.

-- E

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