I think that we should use a web-based forum instead of email. Forums are much more organised and don't clutter your inbox. They also eliminate problems with different email clients (like the whole "wrap your text" thing), as well as signing letters. I set up a free (and ad-free) hosted forum at wikipedia.proboards19.com to test out swithching to a forum, but if it suits you better to download forum software for www.wikipedia.org instead, it's probably better that way anyway. There could be a link to the forum from the main page to increase awareness of it (many people don't know of the mailing list, and there is no way to link to it.) Some people think this mailing list is exclusive and only for sysops and the like.
No. See these two long threads: http://pliny.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2003-May/010033.html http://pliny.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2003-May/010047.html
Regards,
Erik