I'm not sure the "where do I participate in the dialog" dilemma is easily solved. Oh sure something could be coded to up to automagically cross-pollinate between forum posts and mailing lists but that wouldn't really be a solution, because the point made many times by many people remains valid: different environments suit different conversational needs (and different people). I happen to think tmo is best for this sort of discussion, mail lists for shorter types and IRC for shorter ones still-- but that's just me. I won't suggest to anyone that their preferences are "wrong". Sometimes it also boils down to a person's particular degree of engagement, too.

so... back to topic...?