We’ve outlined some possible next steps to evaluate whether certain tools could be replaced by open source alternatives, or whether we could merge some tools. Nothing has been decided yet, and your feedback will help shape the way forward. Current plan for discussion:
Feedback welcome! Do these next steps make sense, and is there anything we should consider as part of the evaluations? Feel free to share your feedback here, or on the proposal. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback, everyone. The main goal of the proposal is to reduce the number of tools we use. For me, having those tools be open source would be a bonus, as long as it doesn’t negatively impact communication.
Initially, I’d hoped we could replace Slack with Discourse Chat, since it lives inside the Discourse Forum we already use and would eliminate one additional tool. However, after investigating it, we found Discourse Chat to be lacking for our needs. That’s why we decided to explore Zulip instead. Zulip is open source, more affordable than Slack, and retains message history. The history aspect was a major drawcard, although I now understand that message history is retained on Slack’s Pro plan, which the community is currently on. So the main reason for the switch would be to move away from a proprietary tool.
However, if moving away from Slack isn’t an option, I think we should reconsider how we use it. This conversation is a good example of something that would be better suited to the forum, where it would be visible to a wider audience and easier to reference later. At the moment, I think the forum is underutilized, and Slack is currently being used for the wrong things.
Another potential opportunity to reduce tools is exploring whether the Discourse Wiki could replace Confluence, though this would require a deeper investigation.
Just as an FYI, Axim runs the Open edX Slack account and as a non-profit, open-source project, we do not pay for it. I believe running Zulip would likely cost us more - either in man-hours to support running a Zulip server, or paying for a hosted option. I also agree with @jristau1984 's point about Slack Connect. We have at least a dozen organizations leveraging Slack Connect. I think using Zulip would actually increase the number of tools for most people who are already using Slack internally at their companies.
@sarina Good to know! Thank you. I’ll update the research docs.
This is useful insight - thanks. Considering how many partners already use Slack, I think you’re probably right that adding Zulip would increase the number of tools. @antoviaque Do you agree?
@sarina Do you have any initial thoughts on whether Discourse Wiki could potentially replace Confluence, or would you need more information before weighing in? I haven’t had a chance to look into how Discourse Wiki works yet…
Someone would need to do the substantial work of migrating our Confluence docs to the Discourse wiki, including preserving page tree hierarchies and marking the Confluence wiki pages with pointers to each new page. That seems like substantial effort and I’m not sure I see the benefits versus that cost.
I spend so much time asking people in various chat rooms to post on the forums and then link the forums post to their slack message, and to then capture results on the forums. I’d love some help in driving this message forward.
@ali_hugo That makes sense to me too, being able to preserve the communication channels & quality is definitely the first requirement for communication tools.
It’s unfortunately often the problem with the adoption of proprietary communication tools, especially SaaS - it’s always really hard to move away afterwards, once it’s adopted and more deeply integrated. I’m not even sure we have a way to export and backup the communication history.
@sarina Maybe there is some warning message we can put up when people register or login to the Slack tool, which emphasizes this? Not everyone is going to follow it, but that might catch and redirect people in some cases, reducing some of the work you do there?
Maybe some kind of bot can also spot messages that need to go to the forum and ask to post it there? Maybe even do the cross-posting. A quick search brings up some options, it might be worth looking into that to see if something would help? CC @ali_hugo
Let me know if you’d like me to take a closer look at the options @xavier identified (thanks, Xavier ), or if you’d like to do that from your side. I will also think of some ways to guide community members to the forum instead of Slack when it makes sense to do so.
Unfortunately I don’t have capacity to engage in this research right now. Even just paying attention in Slack rooms would be helpful, if there are more than just mine!
I’m happy to be an extra set of eyes in the Slack channels to help you nudge people toward the forum. I’ll also look into the options Xavier mentioned when I have a gap and share back what I find.
I’ve finally started looking into ways we could steer users towards the forum instead of Slack when it makes sense to do so.
The first thing I’ve found is a way to send users a message when they join a Slack channel. This can be enabled for every channel or just selected channels. Users would receive a message that looks something like this:
What do you think? Is this something we should add? And, if so, what do you think of the wording and image I’ve chosen? The “Post on the Forum” button is also optional.
It’s not a bad idea. For what it’s worth, new users get added first to the #general channel which is locked from posting and already contains a message directing to the forums and wiki:
Hello, and welcome to the Open edX Slack community! We’re happy to have you here.
A few guidelines as you begin your journey:
If you’re coming here with questions about your instance, developing, or running a course, please first search for an answer on the Open edX Discussion Forums, and make a new post if you don’t find an answer. On the forums, history is retained forever, meaning others will be able to search for your question if they run into the same issue (Slack history is deleted after 3 months )
For more immediate help, you may then link the forums post in an appropriate Slack channel. Please ensure to capture any answers you receive on your forums post, to help others in the community!
If you’re not sure where to start, feel free to post in Community Introductions - share a bit about yourself and what sorts of guidance you’re looking for.
We also have a Community News category for announcements you’re hoping will reach the wider community.
We look forward to your participation in the Open edX community!
I see there’s an integration that’s adding further posts to this channel - I’ll delete those and disable the integration.
@ali_hugo I’d suggest some rewording to the message you suggested, to be a bit more friendly & welcoming. I feel the suggested text is a bit brusque. For the title, I’d recommend:
“Have you tried out the Open edX forums?”
and for the text, just reusing the text we workshopped for the #general post:
" If you’re coming here with questions about your instance, developing, or running a course, please first search for an answer on the Open edX Discussion Forums, and make a new post if you don’t find an answer. On the forums, history is retained forever, meaning others will be able to search for your question if they run into the same issue. Feel free to then link your forums post in this channel, ensuring that you capture any answers from Slack in your post!"
What about something a bit shorter for the body so people are more likely to read it. Maybe something like:
Got a question? Please first search the Open edX Discussion Forum, and make a new post if you don’t find an answer. Forum history is retained forever, so others can find your question if they run into the same issue. Feel free to link your forum post in this channel, and be sure to capture any Slack answers in your post!
This is 322 characters compared to the 461 characters of the longer message.
Otherwise, I’m happy to stick to the longer text if you think that works better.
Unfortunately unmaintained though
), or if you’d like to do that from your side. I will also think of some ways to guide community members to the forum instead of Slack when it makes sense to do so.
than just mine!
Hello, and welcome to the Open edX Slack community! We’re happy to have you here.
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Is this still true? It 