There's been a request to make mailing list readers aware of a poll being conducted at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Mailing_lists#Poll:_a_better_pla...

The purpose of the poll is explained below.

Seth Ilys wrote:

A number of users have expressed major concerns about the way discussions occur and decisions are made and propegated with regard to the mailing lists (particuarly WikiEN-L). Presently, the mailing list is dominated by a handful of individuals and thoughtful back-and-forth discussion over extended periods of time is difficult (among other difficulties). Multiple users have complained that the mailing list volume is too high for them to reasonably keep up with. The current situation is clearly frustrating to many users, and clearly action is called for. However, there should be a home for the sorts of informal "meta-discussion" that takes place on the mailing list.

This subject was recently brought up on WikiEN-L and was rapidly shot down; however, those who shot it down were those who frequent the mailing list, and I feel as if the community's voice has not been heard. Below I propose a number of potential solutions; feel free to add additional options...

I personally suggest moving discussions to the online forums already set up at boards.wikimedia.org, because they offer the threading, viewing, and referencing capabilities that the Wiki is not capable of, but are open, fully transparent, and real-time on the web (accessible conveniently to all).