Re: Diversification [ branched from Re: conflicts in the gnu project now affect guile]

[Mark H Weaver <mhw@netris.org>]

Hi Todor,

Todor Kondić <tk.code@protonmail.com> writes:

> [...]  I've set up my workflows around Guix, git(lab)
> and a customised Emacs installation (instead of R Studio). My small
> team of science students (majority female, various cultural
> backgrounds), never previously exposed to a GNU system to such an
> extent, managed to get a handle on it quite impressively.
>
> But, I doubt any of them would find it natural to take a step further
> and participate in GNU itself (ugh, now I sound like a preacher of a
> new age religion). To my knowledge, interaction within GNU communities
> is still mostly mailing lists and IRC. This _not_ my students' natural
> digital habitat. I am probably not saying anything new, though ...

You raise an important issue.  If we can improve the situation without
causing other problems, I think we should.  I don't know of any modern
replacement for mailing lists that has the properties we need, but I
*do* think there's a very promising alternative for live chat: Matrix.
Amirouche mentioned it elsewhere in this thread.

  https://matrix.org/

Matrix is supported by a very large and diverse set of free clients,
from modern Web-based interfaces to simple text programs, multiple
Emacs-based clients, and several gateways to other protocols such as
IRC, so that old-timers can use their preferred IRC client if they
prefer.

  https://matrix.org/clients/

Incidentally, there was recently an internal GNU project discussion
about how to better communicate with one another, and Matrix was
identified as an option that would meet our requirements.

The client that would likely be most attractive for the younger
generation is Riot.im:

  https://about.riot.im/

What do you think?

    Thanks,
      Mark