[Bioc-devel] Keep the bioc-help email list running?

[Luo Weijun]

Dear all,
I noticed that the classical bioc-help email was shut down completely, instead we have to use the new bioc support forum. I feel that we can be a little more cautious on this. 
First, there should be tens of hundreds of subscribed users to the email list. This is a extremely valuable resource, not many projects like bioc have that. We could be giving up such a big community base accumated these years over night. Whether and how long we can have that many users back to the support forum is a question mark.
Second, I find it very conenvenient to ask/answer questions or share info through emails. For users like me, the email list is stickier than a support forum. You may conduct a survey or compare the recent usage statistics if needed.
Third, many users will chose to ask questions on Biostar or Seqanswers rather than on the support forum. There would be no competitive advantage in terms of user interface or forum activity.
Fourth, we can have both the support forum and the email list running if some people prefer the forum. There shouldn’t be much maintenance needed to keep email list as all the infrastructure is there and automated already.
Just my thoughts here. Anyway, I think this is a issue closely related to the growth of bioc project and the whole community. We have good reasons to think it and discuss it. Thanks!
Weijun