I think its a great idea to start a board but still keep the mailing list i.e. Google Groups. I really don't mind emailing the group once and a while but I feel I post more on a board for some reason.

I agree: I'm probably more prone to posting to a board than sending a mail, but the advantage of mail is that you don't have to go looking for it. (Of course, that can be its disadvantage too -- it can sit there any make you feel guilty, even if it's not high priority for you, but I digress ...).

However, one of the great things about 43F is that, despite it being weighted towards Mac users, it doesn't alienate those of us stuck with Windows, at least not most of the time. Although I'm happy to avoid the _real_ Mac talk (like cute uses for Quiksilver, for instance), and I can see the advantage of different boards for different topics, I'd hate to miss out on some of the more interesting stuff because the available boards made the distinction between the platforms too specific. Of course, ultimately, this is down to where the poster decided to post, but I'd hope the choice of boards would be rich enough to accommodate this.

I agree with you on the case of flatness and strange presentation, Merlin. It just doesn't work for me either.

For those of you that wish to keep up with recent activity across the board, you can use this feed: http://board.43folders.com/extern.php?action=active&type=rss

TextDrive's knowledge base has more information on using PunBB's RSS feeds. You can indeed subscribe to a Mac-only forum within the board, if you wish.

Merlin, when I read your list of reasons for making a new board, they all boil down to: "I cannot bend that to my will." Since you have the interest and the desire, there is no further rationale needed. If YOU want to do it, do it. I am sure that once it is built, THEY will come - with their cute pictures and funny signatures - in droves.

Merlin,

I miss the olden days of bulletin boards and conferencing systems where you could have a dozen conversations going on at once and not feel like you were shouting into a crowded room.

Yes, a 43 Folders board is a good idea! And we should be looking for ways to make it as simple to use as possible and model good getting things done behavior.

The only reason not to follow, overload. There are several yahoogroups I belong too but I don't visit much anymore becase it became to much of a time buster. Google group was fine, once in the morning for daily digest. The biggest drawback for me is that you spend alot of time tweaking your system and not doing GTD. Enough of my ramble, I think you'll find the Google group dying as people move here.

Great idea! I don't much care for the Google presentation either. The only issue I see is user base. If you build something new, they may come, but why make folks make another trip? Is mirroring content an option? If not, a migration plan might be something to think about...

I'm all for a separate board. I've used phpBB for years and love it for discussion. I find the Google groups hard to follow with the way they present info. Using BBCode is a big help for presenting ideas as well (lists, colors, sizing, etc.). I also agree with not making their data warehouse any bigger than it needs to be!

You have my vote.

I like it. In mailing list form, the google group is manageable for me to read, but too much for me to really participate in; trying to read it through the web interface is... well, at least it's better than Yahoo groups. A board should allow discussions to get deeper.

Yeah, I think a board would be cool. I agree with some of the other posters, I think the Google group may wane a bit, or maybe it will just change as some users migrate here, some stay there, and others do both.

It seems like you'll get good crossover, though. I'd imagine most of the active folks on the Google Group will come on over.

I do think, though, that we'll need a podcast of the message board discussions, so we can multitask and listen to it while reading the transcripts of the 43F podcasts.