It's a bit hard to have a lengthy discussion on stackoverflow.
We prefer questions that can be answered, not just discussed.
So there is a loss replacing a real forum with this. From what I can tell stackoverflow is specifically set up to inhibit extensive discussion and followup. And woe unto you who violate the somewhat vague topic rules, posts are shut down, deleted -- and you get the big negative smackdown. Let's see what happens going forward, I hope it stays open and useful as a forum.
-- this post is specific to the subsonic forum closure and move to stackoverflow.