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In my opinion, this has been a long time coming. There were talks about it long ago but nothing came of them. So I can't help but be unsurprised.
That being said, I'm not so sure this will be a good thing. If the project actually DOES move off-thread, it's effectively severed its lifeline to new blood and contributors, so it's pretty stuck with what it has for the rest of its development cycle. These people will likely be few; so rather than the current state of things, where people can contribute every now and then, drop in and drop out, and one person leaving doesn't spell death for the project, it will be reliant on a few to keep it afloat, wherever they may be.
Small problems will become harder to ignore thanks to the echo chamber effect. Furthermore, who's to say that the problems that occur within the thread, such as harassment, shitposting, and day-long arguments, rather than being left behind, won't simply follow along with them?
There are many benefits to being off-site, true: development would be more focused (probably) and without the interference of a mass of voters, things could go more quickly. But will the game retain its trademark "quality over quantity" ideal in the midst of a small group whose ideal is not "make the best game we can" but "make an acceptable game quickly"?
Yes, certain harmful people could be filtered out of the community. But where does it end? When does the "filtering" cross the line into exclusion, or elitism? We have our fair share of elitism here, but it's primarily meritocratic; people who do things well are generally respected, and people who don't contribute are ignored. In a smaller, non-anonymous group, social ties would take precedence over meritocracy, fostering a circlejerk. Would this environment be conducive to productivity?
Perhaps this is a good idea, perhaps it is bad. But regardless, it was inevitable. We'll see if and how it pans out.
