Adding official forums would greatly benefit the Bacula project, I think.
Mailing lists are okay, but they do not provide some of the options and
benefits of forums. Forums would also provide easier support access to
younger folks (such as myself :P).

Forum spam shouldn't be a problem if a board system like PHPBB3 is used
since it ships with a strong and configurable captcha. The PHPBB3 forums
I run have so far not have had any problem at all with automated bots,
unlike these mailings lists, it seems.
Other advantages I see compared to using mailing lists only:
1) Improved overview since it is visually more pleasing and more
sub-categories can be used.
2) It's easier to track complex topics.

I'm not suggesting the removal of mailing lists in favor of forums, I'm
merely suggesting the forums should be added to the main site, mainly in
order to get support.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SF.Net email is Sponsored by MIX09, March 18-20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The future of the web can't happen without you.  Join us at MIX09 to help
pave the way to the Next Web now. Learn more and register at
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;208669438;13503038;i?http://2009.visitmix.com/
_______________________________________________
Bacula-users mailing list
Bacula-users AT lists.sourceforge DOT net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bacula-users