Discussion Forums/Request For Comment
Mozilla is interested in gathering feedback on how the community feels about the state of Discussion Forums (mailing lists, newsgroups) and how they can be improved.
Current state
At present, Mozilla IT manages two Mailman v2 instances, one for Mailing Lists (various -AT-mozilla.org) or Newsgroups + Mailing Lists ("Discussion Forums") which have @lists.mozilla.org email addresses, and corresponding Newsgroups hosted at news.mozilla.org, provided by GigaNews and synced to Google Groups.
Discussion Forums are the [primary form of communication] for projects within Mozilla, and are available over the most kinds of mediums: email, newsgroup or via Google Groups' web interface; all posts are synced (hopefully) across all other mediums, and the user not bothered with the details. To encourage the largest range of voices, we want to be available in a seamless way to as many formats and devices as possible.
Problems
Spam
SPAM has been a huge hassle in the past and is tricky problem to solve. IT is deploying a well-trained Spam Assassin to catching incoming junk mail.
Google Groups Syncing
For various reasons, Google Groups has had trouble accurately syncing with the posts from news.mozilla.org, causing confusing and fragmentation, along with a great deal of annoyance.
Desired Features
Web Interface
The ability to reliably post from a webpage to a Discussion Forum (as would be expected in a traditional 'Web Forum') is sorely lacking from Mozilla. Google Groups (as mentioned previously) is not always reliable with our forums, and has a distinctly foreign feel.
Mobile
Suggested Improvements
Mailman version 3
Mailman v3, has a number of promising advancements that could improve the current state of our Discussion Forums.
- Persona (OpenID) Support
- Newsgroup syncing
- Web interface (Django), user posting and administration
Jive Social Intranet
http://www.jivesoftware.com/social-business/solutions/social-intranet/features
Miscellaneous
Mozillian Jabber
Could sync (some, all?) IRC channels to a protocol supported by most modern Instant Messaging clients, and facilitate easier 1-on-1 communication, using a @mozillian.org or similar account.
Mozillian Diaspora
Open Source Social newsfeed software exists. Should Mozilla pursue hosting Social Network tools for Mozillians (community members and volunteers, plus Mozilla employees)?