In hindsight the easiest filter would have been a Phone specific sub-forum. Also in keeping with your theme on using the "Community" forum as a place where new forum members would be funneled: This would be the place to sticky a "New Members Please Read" thread.

I know we don't apparently like the word "Rules" around here but most every other forum has them and the first one is usually "All new members are expected to read the dang things"

We can call them posting guidelines or whatever, but something should be there because that is what most new members will look for. Most new forum members are new to this forum, not new to forums in general. Perhaps we shouldn't try to reinvent the wheel here but use whatever momentum a new member brings with him/her to an advantage.

As I recall back in the days of the first council's (pre forum) someone wrote a very good intro on the opening page of the maemo.org site that explained the levels of community involvement that were available to new members. Perhaps something along these lines should also be included to explain the whole community. I know the current intro makes no mention of talk.maemo.org but does link to maemo.nokia.com

And finally perhaps the definitions of Maemo "community" and "developer" need to be expanded to better distinguish these terms from the more traditional, Forum Nokia like definitions...

When maemo.org first acquired itT I saw it as an expansion of the community to include "engaged users" and other evangalista's. I also saw it as reaching out to those users with the message that you too are a developer if you take the OS that was presented to you, and make it work for you, in your world. I saw the forums as a place for these users to share these personal development experiences and perhaps even come to the same conclusion; that using Maemo made them a developer... and it was easy!

Windows7's recent "I'm a PC" ad campaign with the tag line "That was my idea" effectively taps into this dynamic. We should too.

With MeeGo looming some may say it's to late or what would be the point:

To that I say , meh. The point is the dang Maemo community. If it doesn't pull all these elements together than what was the point of the last 4 or 5 years? If we don't pull all these elements together than what would be the point of a MeeGo community even bothering to listen to, or positively reacting to this communities collective voice? In this case it is all or nothing I believe. And if that is the case, then you 5 fellows have a lot of work ahead of you.

In EIPI 's interview I talked of committees as one way to help manage council tasks... These committees do not have to be manned exclusively by council members, only chaired by a member.

I believe that if these council chairs reached out and tapped on the shoulder of most forum members and asked via private message (publicly is not as effective ), many would welcome the idea of sitting on a council sub committee and contributing to the task at hand.

This would also promote the use of the mailing lists and foster greater individual community involvement.

... just sayin'