Fellow PLUGgers, On the PLUG-Board mailing list, I've sent out a request for comments on a proposal to migrate from the current mailing list setup, to a web-based bulletin board system. What does the community think about us setting up a web-based bulletin board system to replace the current mix of mailing lists?
Mailing lists vs. bulletin boards are a contentious topic. The strongest pros of staying with the mailing list system are that it's the status quo, is relatively secure to set up and maintain, and is free. However, it's clearly not working in as far as our efforts to keep discussions in check is concerned. Many people get turned off by the traffic, and simply shy away. The job postings on the main list are also an issue. We might have better luck maintaining forums using a web-based bulletin board system. Of course it's perfectly possible that we won't have better luck and that this will be a waste of time and money. Another concern going forward is that I've been hardpressed to find a F/OSS bulletin board system that's user-friendly, actively-maintained, and without a history riddled with security holes. vBulletin (built on PHP and MySQL) seems to be a pretty solid and well-supported web-based bulletin board system. It is not free, but is affordable at US$85/year. I'm willing to host this service and pay for the license in exchange for strategically-placed Google ads. Would using non-free software and an ad-supported service be an issue for a community advocating F/OSS software? The decision will ultimately come from the board, but I'm sending this out to get a feel of the community's sentiments. Cheers! -- Federico Sevilla III F S 3 Consulting Inc. http://www.fs3.ph
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