After taking some time to mull this over, I think Glen really hit the nail on head. While it's easy to think of this as a discussion about where to hold which discussions, the bigger question here is what conversations we are most interested in having as a community, and what the most suitable venue for those discussions would be. Critically, suitability is not necessarily equivalent only to convenience. The most suitable platform to host our discussions and the most suitable manner to organize that platform won't always be the ones we reach for habitually, nor the ones we instinctively think is the simplest. Facilitating effective conversations requires collective effort and careful thought about more than what feels the most natural; it requires us to think carefully about how we create an environment that fosters discussions that are both engaging in the present and beneficial to the long-term health and development of our community.

It's easy to become attached to become attached to particular venues for discussion — a particular Discord channel or a certain subforum, for instance. It's similarly easy to become attached to our existing notions about the roles of different venues. I think most of us would agree that Discord is designed around instant messaging and forums are designed around asynchronous communication. What structures or practices should follow from that, however, are less clear. Different people can find vastly different uses for the same set of core features. Speaking from a personal perspective here, especially among a younger generation, instant messaging can feel incredibly powerful and versatile. I use it in real life for, texting aside, everything from announcements to mirrors of Twitter feeds to posting Wordle scores. On the other hand, I'm sure there are those of us here who are accustomed to the UX of forum software and who might find it easy and natural to use.

Saying goodbye to a channel or subforum can feel difficult. It's not always easy to leap into something new, and it's harder when doing so also means leaving behind something more familiar. That said, thinking of this as a comparison or debate between platforms doesn't capture the full picture. Just because our usage of Discord or the forums might shift, or because our channels or subforums might be arranged, doesn't mean that the conversations we value right now will be lost simply because they take place in a more broadly defined channel or involve the forums more heavily than the status quo. Rather than ruminating over losses, I do think there are clear benefits here as well — Glen's point about 'institutional memory' is of particular relevance in this regard.

If we see this through, I'm sure it won't always feel simple. It won't always feel natural. It won't always feel like things just work. It almost certainly isn't going to be a silver bullet. While there's sure to be a learning curve for all of us in adapting, it's also important to note that there is a learning curve for new members of our community as well, a curve that we already overcame ourselves. These forums intimidated me when I first created an account, but I have no regrets about taking the time to understand how to use them. If we decide, as a community, that we do want to have better, more meaningful conversations, and we find a path forward towards that goal, then I'm sure we can find reason to look towards changes like these with excitement rather than apprehension and tackle the challenges we encounter rather than settle for the status quo and call it a day.