ADMIN: What if ClassicCmp were a blog?

In my quest to cover every aspect, to think about every permutation of what ClassicCmp *could* be in the future, I have yet another question to ask ClassicCmp subscribers: What if ClassicCmp were a weblog, in the style of Slashdot or Kuro5hin? I know many of you hold /. in disdain for whatever reason. I am not talking about emulating the /. culture; I'm speaking only of its infrastructure, purely in terms of being a web app for thread-based discussion. The basics, as they apply to ClassicCmp, are: - Posting and reading of messages would be doable from a web browser. An email interface could be developed, but it wouldn't be the primary method of participation. - You would have an account with a username and password. - Your account would be used for other features on the site, such as access to a data archives, using to a buy-and-sell arena, or moderating others' posts. Right away, I see several benefits: - Members can participate from any computer with a web browser. Even lynx. - Anonymity and privacy can be more well-respected. The 'sender' of a post is your username, not your email address. A system can be implemented where another member can discover your email address only after you give them permission to do so. - Moderation could be less the subjective task that it is now, and more of a distributed, many-eyes process. Imagine if you could vote on a post's on-topicness on a scale of 1 to 5 (1=off-topic, 5=on-topic). Imagine if you could set a minimum viewing level to screen out posts that were too far into the OT side of the spectrum. - There's no worry about HTML, attachments, wierd character sets, spam, virii, or cctech moderation delay. - Your inbox receives less clutter. You spend less bandwidth on mail. - With thread titles on the front page, casual web visitors will be more tempted to subscribe. - It scales well as more members join and start posting. - The forum *is* the archive. - Features you want can be added in code, quickly. The current setup is great for turn-key mailing lists and such, but it is tough to extend. The bad points I see are: - It's a huge change from the status quo. We may lose some members. - Some people may find mailing lists more comfortable. Of course, an email interface to the weblog could be developed. My opinion: It's a good idea that I can implement in just a few months. What is your opinion? Let's answer this one in-list, please. -- Jeffrey Sharp