Suggestion: the open thread for each month should be pinned to the top of Discussion for the duration of that month. Otherwise, the longer the month goes on, the less likely a particular post in the open thread is to be read.
Pinned to the top might be too much, but I think it should be pinned to the top twice a week.
If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.