Let's say that Ɓukasz went a little overboard when he told everybody to abandon the mailing list right now, especially in the light of the upcoming elections (first we will vote to choose a constitution, then we'll vote according to the rules set by that constitution on the new leadership).

That said, I am fully in favor of the current experiment where we're trying to figure out whether Discourse can work for us. I have signed up myself and it's pretty easy. There were a few moments where I didn't know how to do certain things, but these were quickly resolved. I recommend everyone at least give it a try for a few days. And the admins are pretty active right now so if you ask for help you'll get it almost instantly. Will it work in the long term? We don't know yet. We'll have to give it a serious try.

But the mailing list isn't dead, and those who don't want to bother with the Discourse experiment can keep using the list. This will be an extra burden for those who feel the need to follow every discussion -- but I think it's worth it to ensure that nobody feels left behind. The people running the elections, in particular, will have to make sure that important deadlines and voting instructions are posted to the mailing list (in addition to Discourse) to ensure that we reach everyone. I will personally definitely follow both.

A bit off-topic: For something as important as these elections I think we need to use voting software, rather than relying on +1 and -1 on the list (or Discourse polls, no matter how cute they are :-), and the voting software should also send each voter reminders and instructions for upcoming votes -- but realistically we won't have working email addresses for some voters, and the list might encourage them to register their email so they'll be able to vote.

Note that there's no point in demanding that all election-related discussion happen in the mailing list -- there's always been chatter on other media such as IRC (which I myself never read), Twitter, and private email. What's happening here is important enough to non-core-devs that we'll inevitably also see outsiders debating our future in blogs, on Facebook and on Twitter. (And, alas, also on Reddit.)

The election organizers will ensure that everyone can be aware of the elections and where to get info about them. But staying informed as a voter is work, and if you care about this community, you'll have to do that work. Getting to know a new online tool isn't going to kill you.

--
--Guido van Rossum (python.org/~guido)