Daniel-
That sounds like a great idea, but we need something now, not in the Neverneverland of when the servers are in better shape. ;)
That shouldn't be so far ahead, since 8 new machines have been ordered. It doesn't make much sense to come up with an elaborate mailing list setup and ditch it two weeks later.
FWIW, I've just tried three times to post something to the Village pump and failed three times. With such response times, mediation is really not something to worry about.
Regards,
Erik