Discussion platform options

[pliniker]

I haven't been paying close attention but Gitter seems to have fallen in popularity. Options in communities seem to be:

• Discord
• Gitter
• Matrix
• Slack
• Zulip

Additionally, the weaknesses of using Github issues/prs for RFC discussions should be considered and platforms that could support this kind of interaction in a more productive manner should be proposed.

[pliniker]

Chat platforms

• Discord: personally I don't care for the gamer-style this attracts and that it's a proprietary platform
• Gitter: nothing remarkable about this platform but a lot of people report glitches and poor UX
• IRC: no, for all the reasons it's been abandoned elsewhere
• Matrix: seems to have matured significantly, is open source, open protocol, bridges to IRC well. Not my favorite UX
• Slack: not suitable for open communities
• Zulip: I really like the rust-lang Zulip for an uncluttered, no-nonsense and professional feeling environment. The organization of conversations into streams is very appealing. UI feels responsive at all times.

For a chat-style experience I'd pick Matrix or Zulip, leaning toward Zulip.

Asynchronous platforms

• Google Groups:ew
• listserv: :sauropod:
• https://groups.io/ - I looked at this once and really liked the idea. Is it still a good idea though?

I think Zulip's conversation streams overlap with the asynchronous kind of platform a bit?

[brendanzab]

I've switched from Gitter to Matrix for Pikelet (#pikelet:matrix.org), for what it's worth. I've enjoyed the federated nature of it because it means I don't need a bunch of tabs open for different projects, as has been the case with Zulip.