I did think the topic about proper balance between private email and public discussion forums also serves as a challenge to instructors since we obtain want to set clear expectations but not bombard our students with content, deadlines, details given they may possible receive much other infromation from other courses. As suggested, setting guidelines to how instructors communicate with students (via announcements, discussion boards, emails) and how students communicate with instructors and other students (DB, email, groups, etc.) can alleviate the communication stream.
