An idea for a new kind of forum software

[Destructionator XV]

Yesterday, I was reading through both forums online and my email from some mailing lists to which I am subscribed, and I had an idea for a new kind of software: one that combines the interface of the web forum with the interface of a mailing list. Then, just for good measure, an offline desktop client would also be a cool addition.

My idea for the design would be the backend of the forum sits on the server and is an intermediate step for the forum database. It will provide an interface over the network that can get and add information to the database at a middle level. (I'd probably call it forumd or something, and it would have to be thread safe, and able to handle multiple connections and access control. This is probably where the challenge in programming it would be)

Then, there are some satellite program that interface with this on a different level, and offer interfaces. One would be a web program, to provide the classic web forum interface. Another would be connected to the email server, so it can handle new posts coming in from emails and mail out new threads to those subscribed.

Then, there could also be a third program that runs on the client's desktop and gathers the data, or perhaps is notified in real time of new posts, offering all kinds of cool features; being a desktop app, it could do just about anything. Additionally, to differenciate this from the web interface, it should be able to do batch uploads and downloads of new posts.


What do you guys think? Would a combined forum / mailing list software be pretty cool, or probably just a waste of time? Any ideas on the design?