I agree that it can be convenient if mails go directly to a certain address - but for my part i would not be good for several reasons if i used my "work-mail" to handle this. So, people that opt not to use a mail address "permanently" open must still log into their "list"-mail.
Further, each list message contains alot of "junk" (for instance double quotations for instance which can be logic when you answer a mail but becomes unlogic and "junk" when the topic is expanded or automatically generated text such as in your mails Mike), which would not appear in a forum thread. And searching trough a certain topic to find something is much easier in an "uncluttered" forum thread than in a list-topic because this "junk". Ive experienced and read in th list that the search engine isn't working which also doesn't help promote the list. And, this is purely a guess, I think that younger players are more inclined the be active in a forum than in a list.
I realize that i might have seemed a bit harsh in the first post here but I strongly believe that in order to make DBMM gain more active players it needs to be better at marketing itself. The rulebook doesn't do it of course, its a brick, and a lot of my friends (previos DBx-players) wont touch it. The list imho, and in others i know, isn't doing the job. An active homepage, preferably with AARs including pictures and such linked with an active forum would probably be much better. ATM there is 13 "guests" at the homepage. Probably most of them are already DBMM:ers but if some isn't - do you believe that what they see there attracts them to go further into the game?
If there would be a consent that the forum could handle everything handled in the list, but better (even by a tiny bit) - would it be impossible that Phil would switch to the forum? It would rectify/address the issue with his mailbox getting swamped and angry people not getting their mails answered.