Forums would NOT be a replacement for this mailing list. Just look at ubuntuforums.org the ubuntu mailing lists, launchpad, wikis etc.
I'll contact ubuntu-geek and enquire about the possibility of integration with the mailing list. A big reason I'm wanting forums for the UK loco team is because it would greatly increase the numbers in our loco team. I 'know' that a large amount of people will be more likely to join a forum than a mailing list. On ubuntuforums.org we're hoping to trial an "ambassadors" system... a select group of people regular to the forums and with experience with both devs and the forums will be flagging threads, to be compiled into a list of points that the forums userbase wish to present to the devs. How about a similar idea here... I'm sure one or two users of the forums could bring discussions that you guys on the mailing lists may find interesting from the forum. Pricey -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.kubuntu.org/UKTeam/
