Post #1307237
2025-11-16 08:05 UTC
@sturmsucht
Is it a weird assumption or is it based on my experience of where I've seen present-day projects successfully build active exchange?
Tiny sample size but I know it is hard to build an active group anywhere and picking a tool many people already have lowers the barrier. Discord is extremely widely used outside of open source. I can get OSS die-hards on IRC. But I doubt I'd get a newly minted programming student as easily.
I don't want to argue for Discord being the right choice. I think the analogy you wrote that I responded to is accurate. But the challenge of the choice of tool is real.
I do like forums. They are not the same function for many people as a chat. The Elixir ecosystem which is where I hang out have a forum that is an awesome resource. It is not a good place for most people to socially connect with each other around projects or throwing in the quick questions.
Outside of the help/questions the forum format attracts people with a lot of time and desire to argue.
The function of Discord could be handled by IRC or Element. But the low barrier to entry and high degree of actually working plays into it a lot in my mind.
Replies (1)
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@sturmsucht@mastodon.social 2025-11-16 08:14
@lawik I see. It's a difference if it's "just" support or basically collab in development. But your argument for Discord here is the same why people stay at big tech: Everyone is there. And I personally think these costs of convenience have become too high in a world where fascist tech bros provide the tools to catch you off the street. Also, if someone is really interested in having a discussion with you about your product, they should be willing to use your more private channel.