[SciPy-Dev] Unpacking the mailing list: Discourse, Slack = Mailing list

[Matti Picus]

On 20/5/21 12:40 pm, Pamphile Roy wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> We had a chat Ralf, Stéfan and I about moving away from the mailing list.
>
> The idea would be to move over Discourse under the umbrella of
>
> https://discuss.scientific-python.org 
> <https://discuss.scientific-python.org>
>
> Stéfan proposes to do the migration work and I can also provide some 
> help if needed (the complete history would be imported).
> I also propose to help administrate/moderate this space.
>
> As Serge expressed during the meetup, we should be careful when moving 
> to Discourse as some people
> might be reluctant to come. Which would fragment the community. Hence, 
> we should force the move by sunsetting the mail list.
>
> On the same topic, I would discuss the possibility to use Slack (or 
> another platform for real-time chat).
> This has proven to be helpful for NumPy and other projects and we 
> should also see the benefits.
>
> Let us know what you think.
>
> Cheers,
> Pamphile
>
Among criteria for a community forum might be:

- permanence: can we find a discussion in ten years when we went to 
figure out what led to a particular decision

- transparency: will the discussions be archived in a public manner with 
little need for logins or signups

- searchability: is there a good way to search the discussions for 
relevant fragments (single words are often not enough).


So for me slack is not a good option for a community forum, but it could 
be an additional side channel, as long as it is clear what goes where. 
NumPy's use of slack is limited to short informal chats between 
developers or chats with newcomers who might be intimidated by the 
permanence of the community forum.


I am not sure how long discourse promises to preserve discussions. I am 
a dinosaur and prefer email. Discourse -> email seems to work OK for the 
python forums I monitor.


Matti