Hey in regards to the mod forum conundrum, couldn't you put the mod on the steam workshop and use the appropriate forums the platform automatically creates for you?
case in point is that a star wars mod currently does just that
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/discussions/742671195
and has been doing so for some time quite successfully from the amount of comments/threads.
this would also provide an easier platform for you guys developing the mod to make sticky's regarding commonly asked question
(and more importantly I wouldn't have to browse through hundreds of pages of off topic every time I wish to look for dev updates

)