[llvm-dev] RFC: Moving toward Discord and Discourse for LLVM's discussions

Christopher Degawa via llvm-dev
2019-11-18T17:53:31Z

>
> For example, with Discord there is no easy way to link directly to a
> particular post.  Search is also worse, and there is less availability of
> useful plugins such as inserting code snippets, etc.  Discord also
doesn't
> do threading, which is a very useful feature that makes communication
> easier.


Actually, for Discord, it is possible to quote someone using the `> For
example, ....` format or by clicking the triple dot next to a message and
clicking "Copy Link" which results in something like
https://discordapp.com/channels/636084430946959380/642340762620657675/645977260246958081

https://support.discordapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/210298617-Markdown-Text-101-Chat-Formatting-Bold-Italic-Underline-

    "CODE BLOCKS"
    "BLOCK QUOTES"

On Mon, Nov 18, 2019 at 12:27 PM Zachary Turner via llvm-dev <
llvm-dev at lists.llvm.org> wrote:

> Can you elaborate on the rationale for choosing Discord over Slack?
> Obviously Discord is free, but I suspect that isn't the primary
motivating
> factor.
>
> For example, with Discord there is no easy way to link directly to a
> particular post.  Search is also worse, and there is less availability of
> useful plugins such as inserting code snippets, etc.  Discord also
doesn't
> do threading, which is a very useful feature that makes communication
> easier.
>
>
> On Sun, Nov 17, 2019 at 11:48 PM Chandler Carruth via llvm-dev <
> llvm-dev at lists.llvm.org> wrote:
>
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>>
>> *Short version:*I've set up an LLVM Discord server for real time
chat
>> (similar to IRC) and an LLVM Discourse server for forums (similar to
email
>> lists):
>> https://discord.gg/xS7Z362
>> https://llvm.discourse.group/
>>
>> Please join and use these new services. They are only partially set up
>> and still very new, so don't hesitate to improve them and/or reach
out to
>> this thread with any issues you see or things you want to fix. Also,
both
>> services have dedicated feedback channels.
>>
>> Do feel free to use Discourse for technical discussions, although try
not
>> to create duplicate discussions (any more than you would between the
lists
>> and Bugzilla) and make sure the people you're having the discussion
with
>> are fine using Discourse instead of the email list. In case Discourse
>> doesn't work out, we'll collect and archive everything so it
isn't lost.
>>
>>
>> *Longer version & more details:*During this year's Women in
Compilers
>> and Tools meeting, folks expressed very clearly that our communication
>> systems cause a non-trivial amount of friction for new people trying to
>> find out about, learn, or contribute to LLVM. Both IRC for chatting and
>> mailing lists for longer-form discussions are unfamiliar, difficult,
and
>> often intimidating for newcomers. While I have long been a fan and
>> resistant to change in these areas, the feedback from folks at WiCT was
>> compelling and important for us as a community to address. Even if it
means
>> I have to let go of my precious IRC. ;]
>>
>> We talked to a bunch of people and looked at the options out there and
>> the most promising ones were Discord for chatting and Discourse for
>> longer-form discussions. Meike and I have set up both an initial
Discord
>> and Discourse server. You can find them here:
>> https://discord.gg/xS7Z362
>> https://llvm.discourse.group/
>>
>> There is still a lot of work to be done. Notably, it'd be great for
folks
>> to clean up and improve the summaries for each of the groups in
Discourse,
>> and I'll be asking various people to help moderate on both
Discourse and
>> Discord. If you'd like to help out with a specific set of
improvements to
>> these, don't hesitate to reach out to me or Meike and we can get
you set
>> up. Some specific things we're already working on:
>>
>>    - Getting Discord verified with a nice URL.
>>    - Archives of mailing lists on Discourse so you can search in one
>>    place, etc.
>>       - See the plan here:
>>
https://llvm.discourse.group/t/mirroring-and-archiving-llvm-mailing-lists-on-discourse/61
>>    - Moving Discourse to forums.llvm.org.
>>    - Documenting the best way to move to Discourse while preserving a
>>    similarly email-focused workflow.
>>
>>
>> We're just adding these for now, but I'd like people to
seriously try
>> using them. While IRC has served us fairly well, I think it is one of
the
>> bigger barriers to entry. Our email lists are more effective, but also
have
>> had serious infrastructure challenges over the years: a constant flow
of
>> spam, bouncing for several major email providers, etc. Discourse has
very
>> powerful email-based workflows available and I think we should
seriously
>> consider moving to Discourse long-term instead of the email lists.
>>
>> I also want to say thanks to all the folks at the WiCT workshop for
>> giving me and others feedback. I was pretty set in my ways around these
>> kind of things, but hearing the kinds of challenges this has posed to
>> people less established in the community was a real eye opener. It
takes a
>> lot to speak up like this, and I really appreciate it. I hope this also
>> helps start to address these long-standing issues. Also a huge thanks
to
>> Tanya for organizing the WICT workshop and Meike for helping drive this
>> message home to me and doing a bunch of the work getting these things
set
>> up. I wouldn't have been able to do it without her help, especially
around
>> Discord bots.
>>
>> -Chandler
>> _______________________________________________
>> LLVM Developers mailing list
>> llvm-dev at lists.llvm.org
>> https://lists.llvm.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/llvm-dev
>>
> _______________________________________________
> LLVM Developers mailing list
> llvm-dev at lists.llvm.org
> https://lists.llvm.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/llvm-dev
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
<http://lists.llvm.org/pipermail/llvm-dev/attachments/20191118/54ae4ad8/attachment-0001.html>