As was said: When the only tool you have is a hammer you tend to see every problem as a nail.
Use a proper online discussion board if you don't want to use the mailing list. I agree that a blog is a poor substitute for a list or forum if discussion is your goal. It's great for pontificating and getting some cursory feedback, but not much else.
I guess I'd rather Tucows spend the 5 mins. it takes to set up a blog than take the time/effort to set up a forum. I'm not saying it's hard to set up a forum, but to set up a blog when you are a blog provider is likely easier.
I went to the blog they set up for this and it seems to work for what they intended. It allows an idea to be presented and then for comments (threaded, at that, which I don't see in most forums) to be posted. It even had a nice thumbnail of a graphic that was part of the presentation that just begged you to click on it to see what it was. Heck, I spent as much typing this than it took me to view their presentation and the comments.
Just one geek's opinion. Opinions are like...
-- Chris Scott Adaptive Hosting Solutions, Inc. (formerly Host Orlando, Inc) http://www.adaptivehostingsolutions.com/
