[Tagging] Consensus switching away from mailinglists? Was: Time to split the list?

[stevea]

Lotta +1s I might toss in here.

It seems important we channel consensus (agreement, not the formal process) towards this sort of harmony, something we frequently do, sometimes we get a bit off-track.  Yes, it's tough to listen to everybody, not "XKCD-add" (and get everybody rolling their eyes at the futility of it) and still believe (or better, prove to ourselves) that there is "wide area listening" going on.  I struggle a bit grasping for the words here, yet I can tell that others feel this too.  "Better methods towards agreement."

Consensus, as a flavor of agreement (not necessarily the formal process) is a "will always be here" in OSM.  And, new (both awareness of and technical) methods to talk with one another (many with excellent improvements) not only will come along, they do and are here (or almost here).  OSM beta-tests a Discourse server now.  And that isn't going to solve everything, not by a long-shot.  But there is a great big "how do we better listen to one another?" going on.  Let's pay attention.  Let's listen.

I think this is like a "light earthquake" in OSM is that "this is up to each of us."  (Not that it ever wasn't).  It emerges right now as we discuss it.  It's like tuning the instrument to suit you, but it sounds so much nicer when it is well-tuned by many.

As we remain sparse and focused in doing so, we win.  Nobody is talking about a major upset to how we do things by tossing away how we've done it (like "away from mailing-lists" — they'll be here next month), but we do see "newer methods" emerge.  Let us emerge.  There is so much potential here!

We're going to hear people who are comfortable with the way things are, we're going to get some bold, fresh newer approaches.  Listen.  I'm not throwing out any babies with bathwater.  (An English-language "don't hastily discard what's good as we cull what we may no longer need").