Actually I think where Discourse is going is the same place Microcosm is going.
The software is just an intermediary that connects people having discussions and collaborating.
The first version may well be a web forum.
The second version may well be an email interface / mailing list.
The third version may well be native mobile apps.
But all versions work all of the time and people should be able to connect around their shared interest regardless of how their interface preference might divide them.
In that regard, you have the usenet dream of people picking whatever client they love, and there's little reason NNTP can't just be one of the available interfaces to the underlying swirl of discussion and collaboration.
The software is just an intermediary that connects people having discussions and collaborating.
The first version may well be a web forum.
The second version may well be an email interface / mailing list.
The third version may well be native mobile apps.
But all versions work all of the time and people should be able to connect around their shared interest regardless of how their interface preference might divide them.
In that regard, you have the usenet dream of people picking whatever client they love, and there's little reason NNTP can't just be one of the available interfaces to the underlying swirl of discussion and collaboration.